PC who touched colleague's breasts sacked

A police officer has been sacked after he was found to have intentionally touched a colleague's breasts without her consent.

PC Adam Butler, who worked for Thames Valley Police (TVP), was friends with the woman when he made her feel "incredibly uncomfortable" during two incidents.

Butler joined TVP in March 2023 and was still on his probationary period when the incidents happened.

A misconduct hearing's panel, which included the force's assistant chief constable Dennis Murray, found only Butler's dismissal was enough to uphold standards and discourage similar misconduct.

The hearing was told he hugged the woman and that she believed a touch over her chest had been accidental but warned him not to do it again.

But on a later occasion, when he did the same thing, she said he told her words to the effect of: "Yeah, but this time it was not accidental."

The panel heard the woman was left "shocked, confused and felt incredibly uncomfortable".

It said Butler, who worked for TVP in Berkshire, "clearly failed" to treat the woman with respect and courtesy and that his actions would "undoubtedly have an adverse impact on public confidence in policing".

The panel said Butler had partially admitted his behaviour but "did not find evidence of genuine insight from him".