Police officer sent women inappropriate messages

An ex-Thames Valley Police (TVP) officer found to have behaved inappropriately with women he met through investigations would have been sacked had he not quit, a disciplinary panel has ruled.

Former PC Daniel Taylor was found to have tried to start or began a relationship with a woman who was the alleged victim in a domestic abuse case he was investigating.

He also exchanged "flirtatious and sexualised" messages with a second woman and told a third that he had been thinking of her.

Previously based at Loddon Valley station in Reading, he did not attend a misconduct hearing earlier this month.

The panel was told Mr Taylor was suspended by TVP but found at the first woman's house, suggesting they were by then in a relationship.

It was told he first met her in mid-October 2022 and over three days sent more than 100 messages to her from his work phone.

The messages became "increasingly conversational and unprofessional" and the volume of them was also found to be inappropriate.

He met the second woman after her sister was involved in a domestic incident in November 2022 and he sent her 31 text messages on his work phone over six days that month.

That conversation continued on WhatsApp on Mr Taylor's personal phone and he arranged to meet her in person, TVP said.

His personal phone was seized in January 2023.

The third woman was also the alleged victim of domestic abuse in July 2022 and he visited her to return a mobile phone which had been seized from a suspect.

The panel found he said to her that he wanted to hug her but was not allowed and, while standing at her front door, told her: "I'm still thinking of you and I shouldn't."

It found his conduct amounted to gross misconduct and had he still worked for TVP he would have been dismissed without notice.

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