A former police officer has been removed from the force after making untrue claims about harm to a vehicle.

Ex-PC Jacob Vaughan faced allegations of damaging a police car he was using on force premises while failing to document the occurrence.

When interviewed by his line manager, he maintained he was unaware of any damage and that a colleague had confirmed the vehicle’s condition.

At a rapid misconduct hearing held on March 30, breaches of professional conduct were confirmed, particularly around truthfulness and adherence to regulations. These amounted to serious misconduct.

Panel members were presented with evidence from cameras and further inquiries which showed Ex-PC Vaughan’s representations to be incorrect.

It was also discovered that he had tampered with the vehicle’s paperwork to indicate the damage had occurred several weeks before it actually happened.

The proceedings concluded that ex-PC Vaughan would have faced dismissal had he not already left the organisation. He was further entered onto the College of Policing’s barred list, prohibiting him from any future policing roles.

Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme said truthfulness and moral character constitute the cornerstone of an officer’s duty, and it is right that breaches of these principles are met with significant consequences.

This individual’s attempts to dodge accountability transformed what might have been a straightforward internal matter into the termination of his policing career.

The community should have faith that officers act with probity, and the force will continue to expose those who fall short of this expectation.