Cop had sex with member of the public in marked van in supermarket car park during shift

A policeman abandoned his duty to have sex in the back of his van with a member of the public in a supermarket car park.

PC Ian Dawson was bored during his shift and asked the woman if she wanted to meet up.

When she agreed, he drove to her home in full uniform, picked her up in his marked police van and drove to the nearby supermarket to have sex, dropping her off again afterwards.

Dawson has now been sacked and banned from all police forces for life after top brass heard about his mid-shift escapade.

He also admitted having a sexual relationship with a colleague which he failed to declare.

At an accelerated misconduct hearing in Newcastle, Northumbria Police’s Chief Constable Winton Keenen heard the officer should have been protecting the public.

The encounter took place in September 2020, when the country was still in lockdown and people were being advised against unnecessary mixing with others.

The hearing was told: ‘In the course of the officer’s shift he agreed to meet a member of the public, Ms A, for sexual purposes.

‘He was on duty in a police uniform, in a marked police van, when he collected Ms A from her house in the police vehicle and drove her to a supermarket car park.

‘They arrived in the car park at 12.06am on September 8, 2020. He engaged in sexual activity with Ms A in the back of the police vehicle and then drove her back to her home address.’

In October 2021, PC Dawson also lied to his bosses about a sexual relationship with a member of police staff, Ms B.

When asked about the relationship by supervising officers, he twice denied being involved with her when he knew it to be a lie.

In sacking Dawson, Chief Constable Keenen acknowledged the sexual behaviour of police officers is under scrutiny.

He said: ‘There is an understandable expectation of the public that police officers will act at all times in ways that do not discredit the public service to which they dedicate their working lives.

‘With that comes the expectation that they will not engage in sexual activity whilst on duty.

‘This has always been the case but now, perhaps more than ever, there is a recognisable increase in the expectations in the public regarding the behaviours of police officers, and particularly so regarding behaviours involving sexual activity.’

The officer said he had been suffering from poor mental health at the time but provided no medical evidence to back up his claim.

Dawson was sacked without notice for gross misconduct and placed on the Royal College of Policing’s barred list.

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