A SENIOR police officer sacked for lying was one of the faces of Cleveland Police's drive to improve ethical standards, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Lee Rukin, a former temporary Chief Inspector, featured in a video made by the College of Policing after being put forward by the force as an advocate of policing ethics.

The disgraced officer has been edited out of the video, which was posted on YouTube, but until his suspension and subsequent dismissal, he was at the forefront of Cleveland Police's Code of Ethics initiative.

Chief Constable Jacqui Cheer, who also appears in the video, is well respected in the national policing arena for her depth of knowledge and passion for professional standards and ethics, where she took on the role of national lead for England and Wales in 2014.

Mr Rukin was even quoted in a release from the college promoting the code of ethics, which includes a framework to support members of the policing profession to make the best decisions.

A spokeswoman for the College of Policing could not comment on the editing of the video but did confirm it was done just last month.

She said: "The College of Policing updated and reissued our videos earlier this year in time for the anniversary of the Code of Ethics (July 15).

"We are unable to comment on an individual case, but any confirmed incident of misconduct in policing is unacceptable. The vast majority of police officers and staff do an outstanding job, acting ethically and with integrity.

"The small minority of police officers and staff that are found to have committed misconduct annually let the rest of their colleagues down. Quite rightly, there are processes in place for misconduct to be fully investigated and determined at a local level."

Mr Rukin was dismissed on Wednesday night after a disciplinary hearing was told that he suffered a fractured eye socket and cheek bone as well as having several teeth damaged when he had his "face smashed in" on Tuesday, May 19 this year.

He faced charges of breaching Cleveland Police’s guidelines of honesty and integrity, and discreditable conduct and was sacked with immediate effect following the hearing.

The former firearms officer was accused of lying to several senior officers about how he suffered the injuries in an attempt to mislead them into believing they were caused during a cycling accident.

During the hearing, the disciplinary panel was told the level of his injuries amounted to grievous bodily harm with intent and he should have reported the assault as a crime.

The keen triathlete did not deny making up the story but said he only did so to protect his own privacy and that of his family as well as the families of the colleague he was having a relationship with and her former partner, who carried out the attack.