A POLICE officer would have been sacked had he not already resigned, an Accelerated Misconduct Hearing has found.

Samuel Sneade was arrested and suspended from duty after assaulting one of his colleagues.

Today (Thursday, June 1), a hearing chaired by chief constable Pippa Mills heard that Sneade accepted a simple caution for common assault and he has now been banned from policing ever again.

Chief constable Mills said: "We are determined to rid West Mercia Police of those whose behaviour does not uphold our professional standards of behaviour whether they are on or off duty.

“Samuel Sneade fully understands the challenges of being a police officer and the difficulties officers face on a daily basis yet he showed complete disregard for his colleagues.

“The public should have confidence that we will continue to root out those intent on bringing the police service into disrepute.”

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The assault happened while he was off duty and under the influence of alcohol in Shrewsbury town centre late on October 12 last year.

He was arrested two days later, on October 14, and suspended from duty.

On December 7 he accepted a caution and an accelerated misconduct process was progressed.

The panel found his behaviour to be a “serious” breach of the standards of professional behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct and amounted to gross misconduct.

Sneade, who was a PC based in Shrewsbury, has since resigned from the force.

However, had he still been employed by West Mercia Police, he would have been sacked without notice.

He has also been added to the College of Policing Barred List preventing him from ever working for a UK police service in the future.

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It comes just days after police and crime commissioner John Campion publicly backed plans to re-vet serving officers to weed out those "unfit" for duty.

In an open letter, he wrote: “I know the vast majority of police officers are extraordinary people who do a brilliant job to keep their communities safe, however it is clear the shocking actions of a minority of West Mercia Police officers covered in the news in recent weeks will have dented your confidence in the police.

“As your voice in policing, I share your disappointment and anger, as we have the same high expectations of how those in policing must behave."