Sussex Police sergeant faces sack for behaviour towards junior officer

Jason Hoadley, from Eastbourne, is accused of trying to make advances on a newly recruited female officer over four months.

She is being referred to as PC A during a police disciplinary hearing.

The alleged behaviour included touching the officer’s thigh at a social event, trying to kiss her and sending multiple messages saying she was “gorgeous”.

The allegations were heard at Sussex Police HQ in Lewes yesterday.

All the incidents are said to have happened while the team of officers were out drinking alcohol for social occasions or in private text messages from Hoadley to PC A, who joined Sussex Police in May 2021.

She went to DS Hoadley’s birthday celebration which involved drinking alcohol on August 9 that year with other officers on their team.

Later that night DS Hoadley is alleged to have told PC A that he wanted to “snog her face off” while drunk.

At a team curry night at a restaurant a month later he is accused of touching PC A’s thigh “for a long time”.

Sussex Police HQ in Lewes (Image: Andrew Gardner/The Argus)

PC A said: “We were sitting together. I just felt a hand on my leg. I can’t remember if it was immediately. I was not happy, I did not put my hand on his thigh.”

Asked why she did not say anything, PC A broke down in tears behind a curtain that had been put in place to hide her identity at the hearing.

“It was hard, I was only four months in and had been in the area for five months,” she said.

“I think I would be different now, I did not want to cause a scene.”

Later that evening DS Hoadley joined her to buy drinks from an off licence which was closed.

“The shop was closed and I went to go back and he pulled me closer and I thought it was a hug, a friendly kind of hug. I said 'come on let’s go',” she said.

DS Hoadley is accused of trying to pull her closer and trying to kiss her.

She said: “I remember him trying to kiss me and I said ‘come on let’s go’.”

On the same night, DS Hoadley is accused of holding PC A’s hand on the table while on a train back.

She said she did not reciprocate.

PC A was getting off at Eastbourne Station and said he “kept saying” to get a taxi back home with him.

PC A said that she told him to get in a taxi home and gave him a hug goodbye and then he kissed her.

She said she walked home.

“I did not want to kiss him," she said. "It happened so fast it was a very quick kiss. When I walked off I thought ‘did that just happen?'."

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His behaviour was reported by a different officer, a police constable.

The tribunal heard that between then and Christmas there were 14 occasions of reference to PC A's appearance in messages including that she was “stunning” and he “loved her”.

Amy Clarke, for Sussex Police, argued that “this is not the case where you see flirtation from both sides”.

“She thought that not really engaging she would be dropping a hint," she said.

DS Hoadley is facing accusations of gross misconduct which would see him dismissed.

Ms Clarke said that in a previous interview, DS Hoadley said he "should have known better" and "should set an example" for his officers.

The tribunal will decide later today whether his actions amounted to gross misconduct, which would see him dismissed, or misconduct, which could mean a final written warning.