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A police officer has received a final written warning after a misconduct hearing found he had been watching BBC iPlayer while colleagues dealt with a medical emergency involving a detainee.
It relates to an incident at North Kent Police Station in Northfleet on August 6, 2019, in which a man suffered a heart attack inside a holding cell.
Sgt Sean O'Connor admitted breaching the standards of professional behaviour and officer duties and responsibilities following a five-day hearing at Kent Police's headquarters which concluded on Friday.
He was the custody sergeant in charge when a rape suspect was arrested and brought into the station and started complaining of chest pains.
It was originally thought the detainee was experiencing a panic attack but it was deemed more serious on further assessment and a decision was made to call an ambulance.
This was communicated to Sgt O'Connor and the man was treated by the custody nurse.
At the hearing, the nurse raised concerns about the officer's behaviour, saying he appeared more interested in the collection of evidence than initiating a medical response.
She also felt the request for a defibrillator should have prompted a greater response for a man who was "critically unwell" and later taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.
Meanwhile two officers assisted the nurse but Sgt O’Connor failed to attend the holding cell area or help the nurse. She was left on her own with the rape suspect on three occasions for a total of five minutes.
The custody sergeant instead monitored the situation on CCTV and delegated responsibilities to other officers.
During this time, the custody officer had been watching BBC iPlayer and had stopped and started a programme numerous times during various interactions with colleagues.
In total, there was a four-minute delay between the decision to phone 999 and the call being made.
The panel was also told how Sgt O'Connor had made unprofessional comments surrounding the incident.
"He is all out of juice now he is going to sleep for a year."
"Nothing is straight forward," he said. "It always goes wrong in the last few hours that is why I'm staying well out of this".
Before adding: "He is all out of juice now he is going to sleep for a year."
The misconduct panel led by John Bassett, a specialist police and personal injury law barrister, concluded Sgt O'Connor's actions did meet the threshold for gross misconduct and he had breached the standards of duties and responsibilities.
It added that Sgt O'Connor, who joined the police force in 1991 and was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2003, had shown a "lack of insight into the severity of his behaviour".
This, they said, had the potential to undermine public confidence in Kent Police.
Sgt O'Connor said the man, whose identity was concealed throughout the hearing and was known only as AM, was "assured to the best of my ability at the time".
He apologised for his behaviour which he said was inappropriate and that "he would continue to apologise for it", adding "he would not act in that way ever again".
In mitigation the panel was told Sgt O'Connor was facing a number of "emotional pressures" at the time of the incident and this was one shift out of a period of 15 to 16 years working in a custody environment.
It was stated in his defence he had since sought help for these matters and "was on better medication" and now in a "better frame of mind".
Delivering the verdict, Mr Bassett said: "I want you to understand just how close you came to being dismissed."
He continued to add that Sgt O'Connor would not return to work in a custody environment again.
"I want you to understand just how close you came to being dismissed."
Detective Chief Inspector Keith Roberts said: "Whilst a health care professional was immediately on hand to deal with the medical emergency central to this case, as the custody officer responsible for the detainee at the time or the incident, Sergeant O’Connor should have been proactive in ensuring their care.
"The safety of those brought into our custody is a priority and we have a duty to investigate when an officer falls short of the high standards expected.
"The evidence presented at the hearing resulted in the panel agreeing that a case of gross misconduct was proven and the officer will receive a final written warning which will remain on his file for 18 months."
