A Metropolitan Police officer has narrowly avoided the sack after he was reported for breaking the rules by his own mother.
PC George Davidson faced misconduct proceedings for showing footage from a police-issue body worn camera to his younger brother.
The incident happened on February 21, 2022, when the officer was off-duty, and records show he accessed the footage – showing a vulnerable and intoxicated person – 12 times on that day.
His own mother reported the matter to police chiefs in March this year when she was “concerned by the conduct and believed it was wrong”, a tribunal heard.
However she is also suspected of reporting her son out of “vengeance”, after a breakdown in their relations.
PC Davidson admitted viewing the footage while off-duty and with no policing purpose, as well as showing the clip to members of his family.
He said he could not now remember the incident, due to a bleed on the brain he suffered while in the line of duty.
“He accepts that there was no policing purpose for viewing this footage, and there was no legitimate reason for him to view it”, said Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, who conducted the misconduct hearing.
“PC Davidson must have been aware that policies were in place about showing third parties body-worn video footage.”
He added: “It is noted that PC Davidson’s mother, who made the initial police complaint, was concerned by the conduct and believed it was wrong.
“PC Davidson’s counsel has highlighted the wider context and potential motivations of PC Davidson’s mother contacting the police about this matter.
“I recognise that this matter is unusual, in that it was PC Davidson’s mother who made the initial report and there is clear evidence of the complexities of that relationship, and the report may have been made out of vengeance.
“However, it must be considered that a member of the public was concerned by PC Davidson’s conduct in showing the footage.”
The senior officer concluded that PC Davidson was guilty of gross misconduct but should be spared instant dismissal. He was issued with a final written warning which will last for the next two years.
