Officer would have been dismissed had he not resigned

An Accelerated Misconduct Hearing has found that a special constable would have been dismissed without notice if he had not resigned.

Former special constable, Simon Redford was investigated last year.

The hearing, which was held on Thursday 3 August, found that Redford had breached police standards of use of force and authority, respect and courtesy.

In August 2022, Redford used excessive force when detaining a man and verbally abused a security guard who was trying to assist.

The hearing was chaired by Chief Constable Chris Noble and Redford’s actions were determined as gross misconduct.

Redford, who resigned from the force in September 2022, will be placed on the national College of Policing’s Barred List, preventing him from working within policing and other law enforcement bodies.

Deputy Chief Constable Emma Barnett said: “The public must have confidence that when officers are required to use force to detain and arrest members of the public, they will only use the minimum amount of force necessary.

“Action will be taken against any officer whose behaviour falls below that which is expected. We are determined to drive up standards, and those who fail to meet these standards have no place in Staffordshire Police."