Home / Crime and Justice / Ex-Detective's £344k Claim Fails Over Fiancee's Affair
Ex-Detective's £344k Claim Fails Over Fiancee's Affair
13 Oct
Summary
- Ex-detective's £344,251 claim against police force dismissed.
- Claim related to his ex-fiancée marrying the officer investigating him.
- Judge found no evidence of bad faith or corruption in the investigation.
A former detective, Andrew Fearon, has had his £343,251 claim against North Wales Police dismissed. Fearon alleged the force caused him psychiatric injury through its handling of a grievance he lodged in 2017 after his fiancée, also an officer, admitted an affair with a colleague. The judge, Sarah O'Brien, found no evidence of corruption, conspiracy, or favouritism.
Fearon's fiancée later married Steve Williams, the senior officer who investigated his grievance. However, the judge found no evidence that their relationship began until long after the grievance process concluded. Williams had declared his relationship with Fearon's fiancée to NWP as required.
Despite accepting Fearon suffered serious psychiatric injury and genuinely believed he was treated unfairly, the judge ruled he had not proven negligence. The judge noted the force failed to inform Fearon about his key fob being deactivated, but this was insufficient to establish a breach of duty of care. Fearon eventually retired from the force due to ill health.
