Avon & Somerset Police officer sacked
It follows serious allegations about the officer's behaviour
An Avon and Somerset (AS) police officer has been sacked with immediate effect over serious allegations about their behaviour.
Sergeant Christopher Walls, who was based in Bridgwater, has been dismissed without notice after allegations emerged that he sexually assaulted a woman while off duty in Bristol, in December 2021.
It is alleged that Sgt Walls inappropriately touched the woman outside a bar and also made inappropriate comments to her and a second woman.
A criminal case looking into the allegations has been dropped because of insufficient evidence, but an internal police hearing has ruled he did act inappropriately.
The hearing, which was headed by a Legally Qualified Chair (LQC) independent of policing, found allegations of gross misconduct had been proven, after four days of proceedings.
Detective Chief Inspector Ayesha Giles, of the Professional Standards Department, said: “Inappropriate behaviour such as this has absolutely no place in policing and we will always take positive action when allegations are made to us.
“Where those allegations are proven, robust action will be taken, as shown by the outcome of this hearing.
“We’ve made it clear that all our officers and staff must uphold the high standards expected of them both on and off-duty, and they are expected to challenge and report incidents whenever these standards are not met.
"We have confidential systems in place for them to do this.”
As well as being sacked, Sgt Walls has been placed on the College of Policing's barred list, meaning he will no longer be allowed to hold any role in policing or any other law enforcement agency.