Married police inspector keeps job after having sex on duty with colleague
A married policeman who left his radio on while having sex with a female colleague on duty has been given a "final warning" after a misconduct hearing and allowed to keep his job.
Inspector Darren Lane, who has been a police officer for 23 years, placed his radio on the bedside table while having "full sex" with a colleague at her home. Then after leaving her home, he reportedly sent a message saying: "That's the baddest thing I've ever done xxx".
The married father also sent the woman, who cannot be named, intimate photos and a video of him performing a sex act while on duty. Today, Sussex Police said he has been given a five-year final written warning following a misconduct hearing. The disciplinary panel ruled his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct but it did not warrant him being sacked.
The disciplinary hearing at Sussex Police HQ in Lewes, East Sussex heard the inspector had met the woman in 2018 as part of his police role on the Missing Persons Team. The pair became friends but in 2020 their relationship changed and became "flirtatious" with both sending each other messages. Even though Inspector Lane was married, the pair became romantically involved in the early part of 2021.
Sussex Police headquarters where the police disciplinary for Inspector Darren Lane was held (David McHugh / Brighton Pictures)On April 9, the inspector allegedly sent the woman a photo of his genitals on a phone message while on duty, the MailOnline reported. Two days later on April 11, the officer went to her house while on duty for around an hour and the pair had sex. Robert Talalay, lawyer for Sussex Police, asked: "How long were you engaged in sexual activity?" She replied: "Probably most of the time he spent at my address. I recall the comment that he was on duty at the time. It was anywhere between half an hour and an hour."
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On June 4 the Inspector again went to her house while on duty and was there for six hours having sex and lying in bed. The officer claimed he carried out police work from his laptop while he was there. But the woman told the hearing: "It's really clear in my head. He had his radio on my bedside table, listening to the radio while we were engaged in sexual activity. We were having full sex. He did not turn it off. It was turned down very, very low. I couldn't hear clearly what was going on."
Inspector Lane admitted having sex with the woman on several occasions but said it never happened while he was on duty. However, the disciplinary panel found he had taken part in sex while on duty and found his actions amounted to gross misconduct. Stephen Gowland, chair of the panel, said they considered his behaviour to have been very serious.
Detective Superintendent Jon Robeson, deputy head of the force’s Professional Standards Department said: "Police officers must behave in a manner that does not discredit the police service or undermine public confidence, whether on or off duty. We expect the highest possible standards of our officers and staff and we take any report of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously. This officer’s behaviour is a violation of the trust that the public put in the police to serve and protect them. He has not only let down the public but also his colleagues who carry out an enormous amount of good work with victims of serious offences every day."
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