Former police officer banned from the profession after a drunken night out

A former police officer has been banned from the profession after a drunken night out. Beth Hoey threatened and swore at colleagues when they refused to leave their stations and drive her home after a night of drinking, a misconduct hearing found.

Ms Hoey had been in Leicester city center on Friday, October 2023, Leicestershire Police said. At around 03:47 the next morning, she called her colleague, named only as Officer A, to express concern about a friend who had left in a taxi, the force added.

She asked Officer A to pick her up and take her home, the misconduct report states. When the officer refused, Ms Hoey asked him to check on the friend at home, but asked him twice not to record it. Ms Hoey then texted Officer A, threatening to drive herself, despite being intoxicated, unless she was picked up.

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Leicestershire Police ruled that it was “inappropriate” for Ms Hoey to ask Officer A to leave the service “for her personal benefit” and to try to persuade her not to follow the appropriate policy, again “for her personal benefit”. The force added that Ms Hoey’s drink-driving threats “put undue pressure on Officer A to do something he knew was inappropriate”.

Ms Hoey then called another colleague – Officer B – and claimed she had almost been in a fight. Officer B contacted the friend that Ms Hoey said she was worried about and confirmed that he was safe. She said she would have to report the situation.

Ms Hoey then sent a text message to Officer B, calling her a ‘stupid t***’ and a ‘stupid t***’. Leicestershire Police said this appeared to be in response to Officer B saying he would have to report Ms Hoey’s behaviour.

Police said this was “inappropriate language to use against a colleague and is unwarranted”. Ms Hoey claimed before the misconduct hearing, which she did not attend, that she would “typically communicate with Officer B in this way”. The force said it could find no evidence this was true.

It was also not the first time Ms Hoey had behaved inappropriately towards colleagues on a night out. She received a final written warning in March last year, following a similar incident in May 2022.

On that occasion Pc Hoey was in Worcester city center in the early hours after drinking heavily throughout the previous day and evening. As she reached the end of the night, Pc Hoey approached two officers from West Mercia Police in her drunken state.

She appeared to have lost a friend she had been drinking with, referred to in the hearing as Witness A. Pc Hoey approached the officer and said: “Go and find (expletive)… I’ve lost the hell. she is possessed from the front”.

The hearing was told that when the West Mercia officer told Pc Hoey she was busy and left, Pc Hoey shouted: “Get the hell out of here.” Sunteți dracu’ de polițiști”.

Pc Hoey later made a 999 call to the local force’s control room, providing her collar number and reporting that her friends – referred to as Witnesses A and H – were missing. The panel heard that later in the call she criticized the officers she interacted with, swearing and claiming they were “sitting in a police van doing nothing”.

She called again 20 minutes later to inform the force that Witness A was safe and well. The panel on that occasion concluded that Pc Hoey had breached standards of professional conduct, namely, by discreditable conduct, “respect and courtesy for authority” and honesty and integrity. However, it was considered that her behavior was limited to a single, relatively brief episode and the amount of alcohol consumed by the officer led her to believe that her friend was missing and in danger.

Pc Hoey accepted responsibility for her actions and showed “genuine remorse” for her behaviour, according to the panel, which also considered a number of positive character references. He was handed a final written warning for a period of two years commencing on 23 March 2023.

Speaking after the latest hearing, Chief Constable Rob Nixon said: “Former PC Hoey failed to treat two of her colleagues with respect and courtesy and her actions fell well below the standards of professional behavior expected. This would seriously undermine public confidence in the police, especially given that a written warning had previously been issued in relation to a similar matter.

“I was therefore left with no option but to find that if ex-PC Hoey had still been a serving officer she would have been dismissed without notice. I have also indicated that the former officer’s details are on the Police Do Not List.”