Off duty Lambeth police officer assaulted a taxi driver

A former Lambeth police officer punched a taxi driver after he couldn't pay the taxi fare, the Met Police revealed yesterday (Monday, October 11).

A Met Police misconduct hearing that began last Wednesday (October 6) determined that former Met PC James Gillies "would have been dismissed without notice" as he was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour "to the level of gross misconduct in respect of discreditable conduct".

The misconduct hearing followed an incident involving Gillies on February 16, 2020.

The panel heard how Gillies, who was off duty in Eastbourne at the time, took a taxi "without having any means to pay the fare for the journey".

"He then became rude and abusive towards the taxi driver and his colleague before punching the taxi driver," a Met police spokesperson said.

Led by independent chair Akbar Khan, the hearing into the allegations found Gillies's behaviour amounted to gross misconduct.

Gillies is no longer a serving police officer and cannot be dismissed, but the Met said he would be added to the "barred list" held by the College of Policing.

Those on the barred list cannot be employed by police, local policing bodies (PCCs), the Independent Office for Police Conduct or Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

Have a story local to Clapham you want to share with us? Email [email protected], call 07742 524 934 or tweet @IssyMillett.

Find all the latest news from your local area by following Clapham Nub News on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.