A police officer will face a misconduct panel in September after allegedly failing to tell a family that their loved one had died and trying to cover his tracks. 

PC Philip Aiston is accused of breaching the professional standards for police officers, including his duties and responsibilities, alongside honesty and integrity. 

The allegations against the police officer relate to an incident in July 2021, which saw PC Aiston allegedly receive an urgent death request, but failed to notify the family or arrange for someone else to tell them the news. 

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In documents relating to the misconduct hearing, which will take place on September 11 at Houghton le Spring Police Station, it also alleges that PC Aiston lied about it, falsely claiming repeatedly that he had tried to deliver the notification to the family’s address when he had not been there.

The third allegation that will be put to PC Aiston is that after being quizzed about the death notification, it is alleged that he travelled outside the family’s house to see what the property looked like in order to support his false story of having visited previously.

If the allegations are proven, the misconduct document states that PC Aiston, who is part of Northumbria Police, will have breached the gross misconduct standards.

The hearing on September 11 will be in public, and be chaired by Mr Adrian Phillips.