THE Chief Constable has claimed he moved a senior officer away from Derry against her will to shorten her drive to work, not because she raised suspicions about her officers working at home during the pandemic.
Simon Byrne was giving evidence to an employment tribunal taken by Emma Bond, who is now an Assistant Chief Constable with Police Scotland. She is alleging sex discrimination and that she was targeted for being a whistle blower.
At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Ms Bond became concerned that some officers in the Derry City and Strabane District were claiming overtime while working from home. She subsequently called around 100 officers in for a tense meeting, warning them that wrongly claiming overtime may be considered a criminal offence.
After calling for a preliminary investigation, the tables turned on Ms Bond after complaints were made she had acted in an abusive and threatening manner. Earlier this week, the tribunal heard she told the officers: “Do you think I got to the rank of Chief Superintendent by being a t***?”
She faced a Regulation 16 notice, a charge of gross misconduct, but this was eventually dropped by September 2020.
Days earlier, Mr Byrne attended a meeting to discuss opportunities to move senior officers to other posts.
Despite being aware Ms Bond’s disciplinary case was being dropped, the official minutes did not record he mentioned this during the meeting.
Ms Bond, who lived in Co Down at the time, had already told Mr Byrne she did not wish to leave her post despite the pressures she was facing.
Facing questions from Ms Bond’s counsel, Mr Byrne said the conditions of employment in the PSNI meant “there was a presumption we can move anyone on if we wish to”.
“My understanding was there were concerns for her health and welfare if she continued in that post,” he said.
Denying that any stigma from the disciplinary process played a part, he said the “biggest consideration was the stress of travel” and the wish to avoid her having a collision while tired and driving home.
He said the decision he made, alongside Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, was balanced with a “meaningful role” heading up the PSNI training college.
He also told the tribunal he agreed the concerns about officers claiming overtime from home had the potential to damage the PSNI’s reputation and public trust.
Earlier, the tribunal heard how Ms Bond came to face disciplinary charges after it was alleged she treated her officers “despicably”.
Jon Burrows, who was then head of discipline at the PSNI’s professional standards branch, completed a report which called for the Regulation 16 notice.
This was dismissed by an independent investigator from another UK police force, John Armstrong, who told the tribunal he came to the “inescapable conclusion he had acted unreasonably”.
Despite this, he said there were “no grounds whatsoever” to say Mr Burrows had acted without integrity, arguing it was his judgement rather than his honesty he questioned.
He also recommended that Ms Bond’s management take action about her decision to gather a large group of officers together during a time of Covid restrictions, as well as the tone of the meeting.
Ms Bond said this only perpetuated the discrimination against her, but Mr Armstrong said the recommendation did not amount to a disciplinary measure or question her performance.
The hearing continues.
