A Bay of Plenty police officer acted inappropriately towards multiple colleagues after he offered one money for a sex act, and told another he was doing drugs.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) found the officer had acted inappropriately towards his colleagues in incidents in August and October 2018.
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In October he approached a female staff member as she was preparing to leave the office following a quiz night a the police station and offered her "$20 for a BJ".
She complained to a senior officer and an investigation began. The IPCA became aware of the other incidents that occurred in August 2018 during the course of the investigation.
In August the officer accessed a newly-recruited female officers computer to send himself an email from her account asking if they were now best friends. He then replied from his own account.
The female officer attempted to end the exchange in a friendly way when she noticed the emails.
A few days later he sent the female officer texts implying he was using illegal drugs, resulting in her notifying a superior.
The IPCA investigation found he did not use drugs but had lied in an attempt to impress the female police officer.
IPCA chair Judge Colin Doherty said in a statement the behaviour was definitely inappropriate.
"Officer A should never have placed his colleagues in a position where they felt uncomfortable, embarrassed and demeaned.
"His behaviour was completely inappropriate, and it is no mitigation that his comments and actions were intended to be funny or to impress. Officer A fell short of the behaviour and values expected of a New Zealand Police employee by a considerable margin."
Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor said in a statement the behaviour was completely unacceptable.
"This type of behaviour towards colleagues falls far below the standard expected of an NZ Police officer. It is not in line with our values and what is laid out clearly in our Police Code of Conduct.
"I commend the women involved for coming forward and speaking up, so we could investigate and act accordingly."
Both complaints were upheld and the officer was sanctioned, although police will not give further details on employment matters.
Newshub.
