A number of both serving and former Sussex Police officers have been in court or faced misconduct hearings in the past 12 months.

Most recently, former police officer David Rolls, 46, was in court charged with misconduct in a public office. He resigned from his position as a detective chief inspector in March this year.

He is alleged to have abused his position of trust and responsibility to a woman known to him. He will appear before Lewes Crown Court to enter a plea on October 12.

Back in December last year, serving Sussex Police officer Adrian Atkinson was banned from driving after being caught doing 100mph on his way to work.

These are some of the Sussex Police officers who have been in court or faced misconduct hearings in the past 12 months.

Morgan Pearson

PC Morgan Pearson, from Chichester, was barred from policing again after he made lewd and abusive comments about a woman’s looks and mental health while detaining her in April 2022.

Pearson also used excessive force to push her head down while she was being detained, a misconduct hearing on August 30 heard.

Sussex Police said he would have been sacked from the force had he not already resigned in June 2022.

Daniel Lott and Daniel Groves

PC Daniel Lott and PC Daniel Groves were convicted of assaulting a man they were transporting to custody in Bognor in May last year after they pepper sprayed him. 

After being sentenced to a community order requiring them to complete 130 hours of unpaid work, with a victim surcharge of £95 and court costs of £500 in July 19 this year, the pair faced a police tribunal.

Lott, 35, and Groves, 39, were both sacked from Sussex Police after a hearing on August 30 declared that their actions had “tarnished the name” of the force.

Jason Hoadley

DS Jason Hoadley was sacked from Sussex Police after a misconduct hearing found he had tried to make advances on a newly recruited female officer over four months.

A misconduct hearing on August 29 and 30 heard Hoadley had told a junior officer he “wanted to snog her face off” and “loved her”.

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

Officer A

A police officer was given a final written warning after forging a positive Covid test to get an extra day off after her holiday.

A misconduct hearing in July this year found the officer, who can only be identified as Officer A, caused a high level of harm to Sussex Police as the incident undermined confidence in the force.

The officer was given a final written warning to stay on her record for two years as a two-day hearing concluded.

Officer A used a red pen to falsify two lateral flow tests when she returned from holiday on March 13 last year.

Alexander Pead

PC Alexander Pead paid blackmailers after they recorded him performing a solo sex act online while on duty in July last year.

He was sacked after a tribunal examining the incident in June this year declared his actions amounted to gross misconduct.

Pead was at home on a training day and logged on to messaging app Discord where he engaged in the sexual act on a video call with a woman.

The Sussex Police constable was blackmailed by the stranger, who did not know he was in the police, and paid them £1,100.

The 27-year-old reported the blackmail as a crime online and spoke to his sergeant the next morning, but he admitted to being dishonest in both his reports.

Matthew Jukes

PC Matthew Jukes, a former Sussex Police constable, uploaded child porn to his personal phone while on duty.

Jukes would have been sacked after sourcing prohibited images of children from Twitter had he not resigned, the force said after a disciplinary hearing on April 19 this year.

The 32-year-old who worked at the West Sussex division initially denied the allegations before admitting to uploading the materials to the cloud.

The hearing at Sussex Police HQ in Lewes heard Jukes would later delete the files from his phone once they had been uploaded to the cloud.

He was subsequently interviewed after the National Crime Agency linked his email address to downloads of child porn.

Jukes has not been charged with any offences after the hearing was told he wiped his phone of the materials and sent it back to the manufacturer.

Daniel Matthews

PC Daniel Matthews was barred from Sussex Police after being found with a number of drugs.

The 48-year-old was found with Class A, B and C drugs while off duty.

Matthews, who worked in the West Sussex division, was suspended from duty after being cautioned for possession of drugs.

He would have been fired had he not already resigned, the force said at a disciplinary hearing in April this year.

Robert Teear

PC Robert Teear was found guilty of misconduct after a hearing found he had driven in a dangerous and careless way.

A panel in April this year heard that on April 9, 2020, 30-year-old Teear, based at the West Sussex division had driven dangerously to Shoreham in response to an emergency call concerning a fight.

It was alleged that he intentionally drove towards a pedestrian to stop them.

The pedestrian, who had in fact tried to assist police before Teear’s arrival, sustained minor leg injuries.

Following a public complaint, an internal and criminal investigation followed and a jury found Teear not guilty of dangerous driving during a five-day trial at Hove Crown Court in November 2021.

Teear resigned while under investigation. He was found guilty of misconduct, meaning the panel could not impose any sanction as he had already left the force.

Officer B

A former police officer was coercive and controlling towards their partner, a disciplinary hearing has found.

The Sussex police officer, who was granted anonymity, had gross misconduct allegations proven against them at the hearing which took place on April 5 and 6 this year.

The hearing was held at Sussex Police headquarters in Lewes in front of a panel led by an independent legally qualified chair (LQC), who directed that the officer would remain anonymous. 

The former officer, referred to as Officer B, was granted anonymity by the LQC after making legal representations before the hearing.

The breaches were proven by the misconduct panel and it was determined that this amounted to gross misconduct.

Former officer B would have been dismissed without notice, had they not already resigned from the force.

The ex-officer was added to the College of Policing barred list which will prevent a return to policing.

Officer X

A former police officer was found guilty of gross misconduct after it was revealed he was violent and abusive to two former partners.

The ex-officer, who would have been sacked had he not quit already, was known as Officer X throughout the trial after he was given anonymity by the legally qualified chair (LGC) in charge of the hearing.

The case concluded on March 10 this year and heard how Officer X had committed violent, abusive, coercive and/or controlling behaviour towards two former partners, female A and female B, while off-duty.

He was found to have broken standards of professional conduct by the misconduct panel at Sussex Police's headquarters in Lewes.

Robert Potts

PC Robert Potts, who was seen speeding with his blue lights and sirens on, was picking up his mates from a night out.

The 43-year-old made other cars pull over and went through a red light in his police car while driving from Uckfield to Eastbourne, a tribunal in March this year heard.

He then collected his three friends from their night out while he and his colleague were in the middle of their shift.

Potts was found to have been driving illegally for no police purpose, which amounted to gross misconduct.

Following the hearing into the incident, which took place in July 2022, PC Potts was given a final written warning lasting three years for his gross misconduct.

Adrian Atkinson

Adrian Atkinson was been banned from the roads after being caught driving at more than 100mph on his way to work.

Adrian Atkinson was spotted doing 111mph in a 50mph zone on the Coombe Valley Way between Bexhill and Hastings on June 21 last year.

The 31-year-old appeared at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on Friday, December 16, 2022, where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced for speeding.

He was disqualified from driving for 28 days, fined £385 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154 and costs of £210.

At the time, Chief Superintendent Lisa Bell said: “Sussex Police expects the highest personal and professional standards of anyone who works for us.

“The force's Professional Standards Department will now consider disciplinary action following the result of the court case.”

*Some anonymous officers’ initials have been changed for clarity.