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Cop Keeps Job After On-Duty Affair with Subordinate Colleague
18 Nov
Summary
- Police officer had sexual relationship with PCSO on duty
- Misconduct panel gave final written warning, not dismissal
- Judge ruled panel's decision was reasonable given officer's mental health issues
In November 2025, a High Court judge ruled that the Police Misconduct Panel was right not to dismiss a Greater Manchester police officer who had sex with a colleague on police premises while on duty in 2020.
The officer, Insp Alex Taylor, was given a final written warning to sit on his record for four years after it emerged that he began a relationship with a police community support officer (PCSO) earlier that year. The panel heard that Taylor and the PCSO exchanged "flirty and then overtly sexual" messages on WhatsApp before meeting up off-duty in April 2020 and having sex on a sofa.
The panel found that Taylor had "failed to act with self-control or professionalism" and "failed to live up to the leadership and managerial responsibilities expected", creating a "toxic working environment" that was only addressed when a junior colleague reported the issue.
However, the judge dismissed a challenge from Greater Manchester Police, which had argued that Taylor should have been dismissed. The judge said the panel's decision was "sufficiently reasoned" and that it had "carefully assessed the seriousness of the misconduct", taking into account psychiatric evidence that Taylor's decision-making was impaired due to mental health issues.
