Police officers sacked over 'intimate' sex video scandal
Two police officers, based in Cowley, Oxford, have been dismissed over a sex video scandal after a hearing last month found the two guilty of gross misconduct. They were sacked following the hearing.
One of the Oxford-based police officers showed an 'intimate' video of a woman he had been having an affair with to a colleague who lied about watching it.
PCs John Birch and Daniel Gunston met up while off duty and discussed the sex video. It showed a woman in an 'intimate state', as well as other pictures on Birch's phone. Days later, Gunston shared with his colleagues he had seen an 'interesting video' but denied watching it and said he had briefly seen thumbnails that were hard to make sense of on Mr Birch's phone.
The Thames Valley Police Misconduct Hearing held last month heard Birch had 'brandished his phone' and showed Gunston 'at least one of the videos', which showed the woman in an 'intimate state'.
The police officers, who became friends before joining the police, were found guilty of gross misconduct and sacked directly after the hearing. The identities of the police officers' were initially kept anonymous but were revealed after they were dismissed.
Gunston was a member of a team that won a Police Federation Excellence Award in celebration for its response to a crash which killed a mother and three of her children in 2020.
Birch had the consensual sexual relationship with the woman, whose identity has not been shared with the public, in February 2024. In a misconduct interview in March 2024 Birch admitted that he had two videos of himself and the woman engaging in sexual activity.
Birch did admit to sharing the description of the videos, stating 'he explained the videos in detail' to Gunston, yet said he did not show the video because he would have been 'embarrassed'. Birch added that Gunston might have seen intimate images of the woman as he was 'waving his mobile phone around.'
The panel said that Gunston 'dishonestly denied' having seen the video, despite Gunston telling three supervisors that Birch had shown him the video.
Gunston's backtracking on what he had seen on his colleague's phone amounted to 'operational dishonesty', according to the panel.
The misconduct hearing concluded that Birch's actions were 'intentional and deliberate' and that he was 'disrespectful' to the woman by showing the video to his friend and colleague.
The panel concluded: "The panel considered the outcome which would most appropriately fulfil the purposes of imposing sanctions in the light of the seriousness of PC Gunston's conduct.
"Based on the assessment of seriousness that had been carried out, and given the overall circumstances of the case, the panel decided that a final written warning would not satisfy the threefold purpose of the misconduct process therefore the only appropriate sanction in this case is dismissal without notice."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Doctor 'drowned four-year-old daughter at Airbnb then staged her death'
Doctor Neha Gupta, 36, allegedly orchestrated the drowning of her own daughter Aria during a family trip to South Florida - and now faces a first-degree murder charge A four-year-old girl's tragic death at a Florida holiday rental has now turned into a chilling murder investigation - with her own mother, a pediatrician, accused of staging the scene to look like an accident. Dr Neha Gupta, 36, allegedly orchestrated the drowning of her daughter Aria during a family trip to South Florida, authorities say. The Oklahoma-based doctor was arrested this week in her hometown of Oklahoma City and now faces a first-degree murder charge out of Miami-Dade County. According to an affidavit filed by a homicide detective, Gupta "attempted to conceal the killing of the deceased victim by staging an accidental drowning within the swimming pool" of the Airbnb property in El Portal, just north of Miami. Officials claim she tried to pass the child's death off as a tragic pool accident in the early morning hours of June 27. Gupta allegedly told police that she and Aria were asleep in a bedroom when a strange noise woke her around 3.20am. That's when she claims she noticed the sliding door to the patio was ajar - and moments later, found her daughter face-down in the deep end of the pool. She said she panicked, tried to save the girl, but couldn't swim and was unable to pull her out. Emergency responders rushed to the scene and performed CPR, but the child was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital before sunrise. But detectives were not convinced by Gupta's story. After the incident, she fled Florida and returned to Oklahoma - a move prosecutors now say was an attempt to dodge prosecution. She is currently being held without bond in the Oklahoma County Jail while Florida authorities seek her extradition. A doctor who performed an autopsy at the medical examiner's office did not find water in the child's lungs or stomach, and that "based on these findings she was able to rule out drowning as being the cause of death," the detective wrote. Dr. Tuyet Tran also advised authorities that she believes the child was dead before being placed in the pool, the detective wrote. The cause and manner of death are pending, but Tran found injuries such as bruising within the girl's cheeks. According to Tran, these injuries "are consistent with asphyxiation by smothering," the affidavit states. Police have not revealed any possible motive in the case. The detective noted in the affidavit that Gupta shares custody of the child with her ex-husband, who told detectives that he and his ex-wife are involved in an ongoing custody battle over the girl. The ex-husband also told detectives that he was unaware that Gupta and the child had traveled to South Florida. Based on surveillance video and Airbnb records, investigators determined that Gupta and her daughter were the sole occupants of the rental unit, the affidavit states. Gupta practiced medicine at Oklahoma Children's Hospital, part of the University of Oklahoma's health system, according to records from the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision. The university's faculty directory showed that she has also been an assistant professor at the university's health sciences center. The University of Oklahoma and its health system released a statement this week saying that Gupta has been "suspended from patient care, given notice of termination, and was no longer seeing patients at the health system as of May 30, 2025." Gupta has also been given a "notice of termination" by the university, the statement said.
NBC News
6 hours ago
- NBC News
Supreme Court paves the way for Trump to send migrants to South Sudan
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that a recent decision does not prevent President Donald Trump from trying to send eight convicted criminals to South Sudan, a move that had been blocked by a federal judge who accused the administration of defying his instructions. In an order, the court clarified its decision from June 23 that made it easier for the U.S. to deport migrants to "third countries" to which they have no previous connection. The Supreme Court said in the unsigned order that its earlier ruling applied to the eight men, who are being held in a U.S. facility in Djibouti. Two of the court's liberal members, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. "What the government wants to do, concretely, is send the eight noncitizens it illegally removed from the United States from Djibouti to South Sudan, where they will be turned over to the local authorities without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death," Sotomayor wrote. The Justice Department had asked the court to clarify its decision, accusing Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of being in "unprecedented defiance" of the justices. Murphy had previously blocked the South Sudan deportations because he deemed them to be in violation of an earlier ruling he made. That ruling said the government must give migrants a 'meaningful opportunity' to bring claims that they would be at risk of torture, persecution or death if they were sent to countries the administration has made deals with to receive immigrants who cannot be sent elsewhere. The Supreme Court in June blocked Murphy's broad nationwide order, but both Murphy and lawyers representing the plaintiffs said the decision did not apply to the ongoing litigation over whether the eight men in Djibouti needed to have an opportunity to raise specific concerns about being sent to South Sudan. The men are from various countries, including Myanmar and Vietnam, and were all convicted of serious crimes in the United States. They were detained in Djibouti after Murphy ruled that the administration had defied his nationwide order by putting them on a flight bound for South Sudan. Some have had a "reasonable fear" of interviews with immigration officials as required by Murphy's order, but no adjudications have been made, their lawyers say. In its most recent filing at the Supreme Court, the Trump administration said it had received assurances from South Sudan that the men "will not be subject to torture" under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Murphy, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, has come under heavy fire from MAGA world as a result of his rulings in the case. The Supreme Court's original decision merely said that Murphy's nationwide ruling was blocked, but did not explain its reasoning or how exactly it should be applied. The court's three liberal justices dissented, with Sotomayor saying that Murphy's decision requiring due process for the eight men in Djibouti was not implicated. The majority did not dispute that.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Pair of Met Police officers are sacked after one farted in colleague's face and another took photos of his genitals on her phone
A pair of Metropolitan Police officers have been sacked from the force after one farted in a female colleague's face while the other took a picture of his genitals on her phone. PC Wayne Sansom tilted his leg at a 45-degree angle before breaking wind just 10-15cm from the horrified woman's face at Wembley Police Station in northwest London back in November 2021. His colleague, Ben Jeffries, also made 'inappropriate and discourteous comments' about the same woman's sexuality and heritage. To make matters worse, Jeffries also took on the female colleague's iPhone, a picture of his testicles during an Extinction Rebellion protest, the nine-day misconduct hearing heard. When he was confronted to this, he shrugged and told the shocked woman: 'Why are you getting offended? It's just a picture of my balls.' The two were swiftly taken off the force by the Metropolitan Police misconduct panel in central London, dismissed without warning for breaching multiple Standards of Professional Behaviour, including Discreditable Conduct, Authority, Respect and Courtesy, and Equality and Diversity. Russell Ford, representing the Met Police at the hearing, revealed how PC Sansom invited the female officer, known as PC B, to 'pull his finger' at Wembley station. 'When she declined, he passed wind in her face from around 10-15 cm away.' Sansom admitted to the 'pull my finger remark' but denied actually breaking wind. Still, he 'fully accepts his attempt at humour was misplaced and inappropriate in a modern policing workplace,' said Mr Ford. The misconduct panel also heard Sansom 'turned his back, stood on his toes and passed wind in her face' after she told him to move along. The disgusting prank was backed up by another female officer who witnessed the shocking scene. 'He described how after he asked the PC to pull his finger, PC Sansom, in close proximity, turned away from her and passed wind very loudly - then laughed out loud and walked away.' Mr Ford then referred to an occasion in mid-December 2021 when the female officer described assisting on a call-out involving 'people who did not speak English' with PC Sansom. He was also accused of asking the female officer 'questions about her sexuality' and 'calling her a lesbian'. PC Sansom claimed that he only asked the officer 'once' about her sexuality after 'hearing rumours circulate about his colleagues' personal life. 'He was concerned that this could lead to her being unfairly treated or talked about.' PC Jeffries was said to have made 'discourteous remarks' to the same female officer about her sexuality. 'This included asking her personal questions of a sexual nature, asking about rimming and asking if she had gone down on someone and asking if someone had gone down on her,' said Mr Ford. PC Jeffries took a picture of his testicles using the female officer's mobile phone at an Extinction Rebellion protest on August 25 2021, the panel heard. She had asked PC Jeffries and a colleague if they could get her some water from a nearby shop, and handed over her mobile telephone so they could use her Apple Pay. 'When they returned, they were laughing as they approached, and she assumed they had done something to her phone. 'When PC Jeffries handed her back her phone, she opened it and noticed that the last application used was the camera. 'She looked at the last photographs taken and saw what she believed to be a testicle. 'She said: "That's disgusting", and he (Jeffries) replied: "Why are you getting offended? It's just a picture of my balls." PC Jeffries also made 'discourteous remarks motived by race' about a different female colleague at Wembley Police Station. 'She says that PC Fitzpatrick invited her to take a seat, whereupon PC Jeffries said to her "no, take a knee". That remark, the authorities say, was no doubt a reference to a gesture used by the Black Lives Matter movement. Mr Ford told the hearing of a second incident in which the female officer went to open a door at the police station to find PC Jeffries holding it shut as a joke. 'When he released the door, he laughed and said to her words along the lines of: 'I thought you were going to start screaming Black Lives Matter'. The officer was 'annoyed and upset about this remark' and recalled another occasion when PC Jeffries pretending to light-heartedly punch her and then said: 'Oh, Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter!'. Panel chair Alison Baller (corr) said Sansom and Jeffries were 'disrespectful and discourteous' towards colleagues. They also 'discriminated against them unlawfully by making sexist, homophobic and unlawful comments'. 'The panel had found that PC B made it known to PC Jeffries that she did not appreciate his remarks. 'PC B said that for months she was trying to figure out what she had done to PC Sansom and PC Jeffries for them to behave in the way they did. 'Without realising, it began affecting her personal life and her mental health, to the point she had to contact a therapist.' Ms Baller referred to 'increasing societal concerns' regarding this type of behaviour and said their conduct had amounted to 'regular, sustained behaviour over a period of time.' Speaking of PC Jeffries she said: 'There were multiple proven allegations and breaches of professional behaviour.' Regarding PC Sansom she said: 'As an experienced police officer with over 20 years' service, there was an expectation for PC Sansom to act as a role model. 'It is imperative policing makes it clear this is wholly unacceptable. Ms Baller added: 'The panel considered whether a final written warning would be sufficient in this case. 'The panel considered whether it would be appropriate, but did not find any circumstances that would be appropriate in this case. 'The panel came to the view that the only result could be immediate dismissal from the force. 'The panel considered the local community would be concerned that an officer who behaved so badly towards colleagues was still serving as a Met police officer.' Both officers were immediately dismissed from the force and were informed of their respective rights to appeal. Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing for the North West Command, said: 'The actions and comments made by both PC Jeffries and PC Samson were disgusting, wholly inappropriate and fell far below the standards expected of Met police officers. It is right they have been dismissed. 'I would encourage our staff to continue to report any wrongdoing so that we can take action.' The officers will now both be added to the Barred List held by the College of Policing. Those appearing on the list cannot be employed by police, local policing bodies, the Independent Office for Police Conduct or His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
