Police officer sacked after asking vulnerable woman for threesome while on duty

Woman called police after he arrived to her flat

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A police officer has been sacked after asking a woman for a threesome as he dealt with her following complaints of anti-social behaviour.

PC Darren Booth propositioned the 36-year-old – described as a vulnerable and habitual street drinker – while responding to a call out in Castleford, West Yorkshire.

The woman, known only as Miss A, agreed to meet up and invited him round to her flat after his shift – but then called police when he arrived.

PC Booth’s colleagues turned up to find him still there.

The 40-year-old denied misconduct at a disciplinary panel hearing, saying he had gone to the flat out of hours and after midnight to gather intelligence on counterfeit cigarettes.

But panel chairman Geoffrey Payne said the explanation was not credible and ruled on Thursday afternoon that gross misconduct had been proved.

He said the officer's behaviour was "sexually motivated and exploited the power imbalance” between the pair.

He added the behaviour was aggravated by Miss A's vulnerability, as she was a victim of domestic violence as well as an alcoholic former drug user with a long criminal record.

The episode occurred in March last year when PC Booth was dispatched to deal with the woman and a friend in the town centre.

In evidence during the hearing, Miss A descried how the married father – who had served for 14 years with West Yorkshire Police – took her to one side under the guise of questioning.

But she said: “He was asking to meet up with me that night when he finished his shift…

“He basically said he wanted to meet up on a regular basis for sex and, if you can get someone else involved, it would be even better."

The panel heard that she told a police sergeant on the night: "He asked if there was anyone else I could get for a threesome."

Following the panel’s verdict on Thursday afternoon, Detective Superintendent Richard Crinnion, of West Yorkshire Police's professional standards directorate, said the force demanded “the highest standards of professionalism and conduct from its officers and staff, and the actions of Darren Booth in abusing his position clearly fell far short of what we and the public would expect”.

He added: “His behaviour in attempting to proposition and take advantage of a woman who he professionally knew to be vulnerable was clearly highly exploitative and utterly out of keeping with the basic values of the uniform he wore."