"Mortified" police officer faces sack for drunkenly urinating in Urban Outfitters fitting room
23 August 2022, 15:06 | Updated: 23 August 2022, 15:09
An “excellent” police officer is facing the sack for allegedly urinating in a clothes shop fitting room whilst drunk, a police disciplinary hearing has heard.
Pc Amelia Shearer, of Cleveland Police, is accused of gross misconduct over the incident, which is said to have taken place in Urban Outfitters in York as she socialised with friends last September.
The retailer paid £492 to have the cubicle professionally cleaned following the alleged incident, which is said to have taken place while the officer was off-duty.
Inspector Christian Duree told the hearing Pc Shearer telephoned him sounding audibly “upset” the following day, noting that she could be heard “crying down the phone” as she explained the allegations over a fifteen minute phone call.
Pc Shearer denies both urinating in the store and subsequently lying to her boss about the incident.
The officer, who is said to have been “mortified” by the claims according to Mr Duree, wept as her boss labelled her a “absolutely spot-on, an excellent officer”, Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium heard.
Mr Duree, who had been in charge of her development for a year, added: "She deals with members of the public exceptionally well.”
"Her performance as a probationer was excellent."
It comes as Olivia Checa-Dover, on behalf of the police force, said by 3.30pm on Saturday September 11, Pc Shearer was drunk or affected by drink.
She also noted on Monday, as part of the ongoing hearing, that Pc Shearer’s account had changed.
With Pc Shearer initially telling her inspector she had been trying on clothes, she later corrected her account to say she had gone in to adjust her bra.
Sales associate Ryan Weir, who was staffing the fitting room at the time, also told the hearing Pc Shearer initially asked whether toilets were available. After being told they were not, the off-duty officer made her way into the cubicle with no clothes to try on.
Describing how Pc Shearer "made a quick exit", Weir is said to have radioed his manager for help, before an on-duty police officer was called to the store, noting the damp patch on the wooden floor.
The hearing continues.
