Sergeant 'grabbed and kissed' Met Officer against her will, misconduct hearing told

7 February 2022, 15:39 | Updated: 7 February 2022, 15:45

A Metropolitan Police officer has recalled the "horrifying" moment a more senior male colleague allegedly grabbed her face and kissed her.

Sergeant George Panayi, part of the East Area Command Unit, is accused of kissing and pinching the cheek of the officer - without her consent - while on duty.

He is also accused of opening the door to a lavatory knowing the officer was inside.

At a police misconduct hearing on Monday, the officer said she was sitting in the driver's seat of a police van on December 21 2019 when Sgt Panayi approached and asked to see the log book.

She said he showed her photographs of women on his phone and told her: "I'm dating them because you are not available."

After that, she said he grabbed her face "in a headlock" with both hands and kissed her on the cheek.

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She said he grabbed her in such a way that she "couldn't move".

The officer was asked by Julian Walters, counsel for the Met, if she consented to it.

She replied: "Absolutely not."

The woman said she and another officer in the van "looked at each other in shock".

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She said it was "offensive, demeaning, horrifying", adding: "I was shocked. I did not know how to react."

The officer said she was "like a fish out of water" and was not sure what to do.

"It was unwanted. It was offensive," she said.

The woman told the hearing that on February 3 2020 Sgt Panayi also pinched her cheek when she was in the middle of restraining a mental health patient trying to self-harm.

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She said it was "completely unprofessional".

"He didn't do it to my other colleague," she added.

"He did it to me."

The woman told the hearing about the third allegation, said to have taken place on February 9 2020, in which she says Sgt Panayi opened the female lavatory door after she had gone in and before she had the chance to lock it.

"He just laughed at me and walked off," she said.

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The officer said she reported the incidents as they had not been one-offs.

"This was becoming a pattern. My fear was that other things were going to happen," she said.

Asked if she thought there was a sexual motivation behind the alleged incidents, she said: "I do believe that, yes."

The officer said there had been "stigma" after she made the allegations, adding that some officers were supportive while others were not.

It is alleged that Sgt Panayi breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of authority, respect and courtesy.

It is further alleged that his conduct, if proven, amounts to gross misconduct and is so serious it would justify his sacking.

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Mr Walters said it is "expressly stated" that police should show courtesy and respect towards both the public and their colleagues.

He said the allegations against Sgt Panayi involve acts, not words, adding that they are "deliberate" acts meant to "interfere with the physical integrity" of the officer.

"We say that those acts are, objectively measured by contemporary prevailing standards, disrespectful and discourteous," Mr Walters said.

He said it is "manifestly obvious" that, when an "unsolicited, uninvited kiss" is placed on the cheek of a colleague, it is by its very nature disrespectful and discourteous.

He said the difference in rank magnifies the lack of courtesy, saying the constable "cannot answer back in kind" and was the victim of an "abuse of power".