Hampshire Constabulary has condemned the "appalling behaviour" of a former senior officer who has been barred from the profession. 

Former chief superintendent David Powell was barred from ever serving again in the police following a two-day misconduct hearing that found his behaviour to be "aggressive" and "bullyish" towards fellow officers. 

It followed an incident in Kings Worthy in March 2023 where Powell acted inappropriately while off duty as police investigated a domestic abuse incident - despite being the force's lead on domestic violence at the time.

The misconduct hearing heard how he told officers "no crime had been committed", despite having not witnessed the assault, and challenged officers on their understanding of the force's domestic violence policy. 

He also said "that's a crap decision" when officers arrested a suspect and insisted on speaking to the victim, leading officers to think he may try to persuade them from making a complaint.

READ MORE: Former Hampshire Chief Superintendent barred from profession

Speaking after the misconduct hearing, Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said: "As police officers, we hold our position both on and off duty. As serving officers bestowed with significant policing powers, we cannot prioritise the needs of our friends over the oath we have taken.

"We expect our most senior officers to role model the standards of professional behaviour and abide by the code of ethics in everything they do. No matter what your rank or position is within the service, if your standards and behaviour fall short you will be dealt with.

"While this incident sadly highlights extremely poor behaviour by an individual at a senior police level, it also shows that the vast majority of our officers and staff come to work every day to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons.

"I want to commend the moral courage of those officers who remained calm and professional throughout the incident in extremely challenging circumstances, and had the confidence to call out the appalling behaviour of a very senior officer."

The panel judged that if he hadn't retired in March, Ch/SUpt Powell would have been immediately dismissed.