A police constable resigned from Greater Manchester Police in disgrace a day before a disciplinary hearing found he had waged an often intimidating campaign of sexual harassment against two junior female colleagues he was tutoring.
A disciplinary panel ruled PC Simon Rickard would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had he not left the force 24 hours before he faced allegations which amounted to 'sexual discrimination and sexual harassment'. In one incident, the cop - described as 'predatory' by the panel - took a picture of one of the young officers and laughed as he told her 'this is going in the w**k bank', it was found.
Allegations from Officer A
While tutoring one junior female officer, PC Rickard is alleged to have 'acted towards her in a manner which was derogatory, discriminatory, misogynistic and/or amounted to sexual harassment' in September 2021. After the junior cop, referred to only as Officer A, had detained a man under the Mental Health Act, PC Rickard is said to have told the man within her earshot: "At least you've had a pretty officer arrest you."
Two days later he is said to have told the same female officer 'you just sit there and look pretty' and later the same day: "I have been practicing writing your name in my love letters to you." When she asked PC Rickard about what incidents to attend, she told him 'you tell me what to do' and the cop answered 'let's get naked then', according to the published disciplinary ruling.
Three days later, on September 20, 2021, he took a picture of the junior officer 'without her knowledge or permission' and then laughed as he told her 'this is going in the w**k bank'. She denied his comments were 'just a joke', telling the disciplinary panel he was in a position of power and older than her. "As a junior trainee officer who was new to the team, your conduct made her feel vulnerable and isolated," it was alleged against PC Rickard.
Allegations from Former Officer B
PC Rickard faced similar allegations from a second trainee cop, referred to as Former Officer B, who also accused him of conduct which was 'derogatory, discriminatory, misogynistic and/or amounted to sexual harassment' between February and April 2022. During one of her first shifts when they talked about cycling to work, he is said to have looked her up and down and told her: "Mmm well you do have a cyclist's a**e."
When she asked for help as she was sitting at a computer, instead of sitting beside her PC Rickard leaned over her from behind and put his arms around her, it was alleged. His behaviour was 'sexual and unnecessary', she told the disciplinary panel. He was alleged to have touched her leg 'on several occasions' when they were in a patrol car alone although she later accepted this may have been unintentional. The probationer cop also said she witnessed him slap another female colleague on her backside during a house search although the panel found this allegation was not proven.
PC Rickard 'frequently' made derogatory comments about the weight and appearance of female colleagues and members of the public, it was alleged. He was said to have 'repeatedly made grossly inappropriate and sexualised comments', including that his son used the dating app Tinder 'to find a s**g, just to get his end away and shoot his load'. She said she heard the accused cop comment on a member of the public that he would 'give her one' and also that he told he would have 'tried it' with the female officer if she did not already have a boyfriend. He told her about the women he 'sh***ed'.
When the female officer told him her jaw was sore following a scooter accident, he was said to have replied 'oh eh, I bet it is', a comment she believed was a reference to a sexual act and 'sleazy'. The panel agreed he made the comment but was not satisfied it was said with sexualised intent.
Panel findings and impact
His behaviour made her feel so 'uncomfortable and uneasy' that she would shake and avoid him when possible, she said. His conduct 'contributed' to her decision to leave GMP, according to the published ruling. Former Officer B denied she had struggled with her workload and told the panel she had left the force because she felt 'unsupported'. She denied there was a 'clash of personalities' with PC Rickard and also denied she 'rolled her eyes' at him on some occasions when he spoke to her.
The panel found Officer A was a 'credible witness' who had made notes about the incidents on her phone. They accepted all her allegations as proven. Former Officer B was also a 'credible witness' and the panel accepted the majority of her allegations.
The ruling says: "The panel found that former PC Rickard had engaged in unwanted conduct through his numerous inappropriate, sexualised and offensive comments, and that his conduct had the effect of violating (the two officers') dignity and created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and offensive environment for them both. The panel found that former PC Rickard’s unwanted conduct was sexual in nature."
His behaviour made them feel 'demeaned, humiliated and vulnerable' and 'represented sexual discrimination and sexual harassment'. The ruling continued: "The panel found that the former officer was in a position of trust and authority as the tutor of the two officers. The panel found that the officer took advantage of his position in conducting himself as he did."
PC Rickard was 'motivated by a desire to establish a sexual relationship with the officers and his behaviour was therefore predatory in nature'. The ruling concluded: "It found that the most appropriate sanction in this case, and that which reflected the evidence, the former officer’s culpability and the serious nature of these findings, would have been dismissal without notice."
