A Derbyshire police officer has been dismissed with immediate effect and placed on the barred list after he and a colleague engaged in sexual activity with a woman in a patrol car.
Former PC Matthew Longmate “used his position for sexual gain” and has been sacked from his job just days before he is due for a Crown Court sentence hearing after being found guilty of one count of misconduct in public office.
Longmate is due to be sentenced on Monday following a four-day trial at Southwark Crown Court in November in which a jury found him guilty.
Earlier in 2023, his colleague PC Daniel Nash pleaded guilty to 14 counts of misconduct in public office. He was sentenced in August but, due to ill health he was handed a two-year suspended sentence and died the following month.
An investigation found that both Longmate and Nash were on a night patrol shift in Chesterfield on October 4, 2015. On the night they came across a woman who had been drinking and had been ordered to leave a nightclub.
The officers offered the woman a lift home. It was while in the police vehicle that PC Longmate and his colleague engaged in sexual activity with the woman.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) received a referral from Derbyshire Constabulary in November 2021, when the matter came to light during an investigation into PC Longmate’s colleague.
Derbyshire Constabulary agreed that PC Longmate had a case to answer for gross misconduct for potentially breaching police standards of professional behaviour. An accelerated misconduct hearing was held on January 4.
The hearing was conducted by an independent chair – Chief Constable Chris Haward of Lincolnshire Police. The Chief Constable said the “only appropriate outcome” in this case was for dismissal after PC Longmate’s actions were deemed to be of gross misconduct.
Chief Cons Haward’s verdict statement said: “To give PC Longmate a final written warning would significantly undermine public trust in the police and high standards in policing. It would not protect the public from future misconduct by PC Longmate.
“The only appropriate outcome is therefore dismissal without notice. This will protect the public from future misconduct by PC Longmate and act as a deterrent to other officers who might similarly misconduct themselves.”
Derbyshire Constabulary Deputy Chief Constable Simon Blatchly said Longmate was sacked after committing “a truly horrendous crime”. He added the force accelerated a dismissal process and he had “no place in policing”.
Dep Chief Cons Blatchly said: “Every Derbyshire police officer takes an oath to protect the people of this county. But instead of protecting them Longmate used his position for his own sexual gain and has been found guilty of one of the most serious crimes that can be brought against a public servant.
“Following the guilty verdict, the force undertook an accelerated dismissal process which removed him from the organisation as soon as was legally possible. The likes of Longmate have no place in policing and we will do all we can to ceaselessly root out those who taint the hard work of the overwhelming majority of officers and staff in Derbyshire Constabulary.”
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