A Greater Manchester Police sergeant who hurled insults at a junior colleague when she rejected his advances has escaped the sack after expressing remorse. Sergeant Gareth Higginbottom bombarded a female PC with rude messages but was demoted to constable instead of being dismissed.
Consensual encounter and subsequent harassment
The disciplinary panel heard that Higginbottom had a consensual sexual encounter with a female colleague, referred to as PC A, in May 2023. At the time, Higginbottom was a PC and asked the woman not to mention what happened as he was about to be promoted to sergeant and would become her boss. The woman agreed, citing it would be "awkward".
After Higginbottom's promotion, on August 30, 2023, following a social event with alcohol, PC A asked him if he had ever revealed their encounter while they were heading to a McDonald's restaurant. Higginbottom responded: "Why would I tell someone that I slept with someone and then they f***** me off the next day?" The woman decided to go home instead, feeling unwell. Higginbottom then asked: "Why don't you come back to my house and I will drop you home tomorrow?" She declined.
Vile messages and further abuse
When PC A checked her phone in the early hours of the next day, she saw two missed calls and a string of messages from Higginbottom on iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. One message, sent at 1:50am, included an insult and stated: "Upset because what you wanted went home. Can’t be arsed with you mate. Feel like such a f****** mug, wanting to make amends so you can crack on with other people. Mithered about what other supervision thing, only yourself to blame." It continued: "You’re actually angin mate. Don’t rely (sic), can’t be dealing with skets." The tribunal heard that "angin" and "skets" are slang for ugly and promiscuous, respectively.
During the same night out, Higginbottom also abused another female officer, PC B, after she admitted kissing a colleague while in a relationship. He made vile sexual remarks about what the two officers she mentioned would do to her, repeatedly referencing this throughout the evening. PC B initially dismissed the language as "banter," but later reported a comment where Higginbottom said: "Don't worry PC B I'd f*** you." A colleague challenged Higginbottom, who then apologized.
Further incident and panel ruling
On March 7, 2024, during another work night out, a third female officer, PC C, was approached by a group of males who said Higginbottom was "rude." Later, Higginbottom told PC C: "I've told those lads that you're not the type of girl to go home with them and f*** them if that's your plan." PC C described the comments as "highly inappropriate and unsolicited."
The disciplinary panel, chaired by Assistant Chief Officer Jonathan Roy, found Higginbottom's conduct towards the three female officers was "serious, deliberate, and targeted," and his abuse of PC A was "malign." The panel ruled he had "failed to act as a role model" as sergeant and was guilty of gross misconduct. However, they decided against dismissal, citing the harm as "medium" rather than "high" and his "genuine remorse." He was demoted to constable.
The panel concluded: "The panel considered that the proven conduct demonstrated poor leadership that fell far below the standard expected of a sergeant. In all the circumstances, the panel, having applied the structured approach, considered that the most appropriate outcome is reduction in rank."
