Police officer convicted of sexual assault to face accelerated misconduct hearing
An accelerated misconduct hearing is to be held for a former police officer who was convicted of sexual assault.
Liam Smith, of Lancer Road, Shrewsbury, sexually touched a woman over her clothing while off-duty and on a night out in the town on September 10, 2022.
A jury found Smith guilty in June last year after three days of deliberations.
He was sentenced the following month and handed a nine-month community order consisting of 140 hours of unpaid work.
The 31-year-old was also ordered to pay £300 in compensation and £2,000 in costs, as well as a £114 victim surcharge.
He was suspended from the force as soon as the allegation came to light and resigned on December 3, 2023.
However, an accelerated misconduct hearing will still take place at West Mercia Police’s headquarters in Hindlip, Worcestershire, this Thursday - August 14.
At the time of his sentence, chief constable Richard Cooper said he was pleased Smith had been held to account for his crime.
“Any form of sexual assault is totally unacceptable, and as this case shows, we can and do take action against offenders regardless of who they are,” he said.
“I’d once again like to commend the victim for coming forward. I don’t underestimate the courage that this would have taken.
“We expect the highest standards of conduct from our officers, both on and off-duty, and when these standards are breached we act quickly.”
