A drunken police officer who avoided being sacked for urinating in a shop’s changing room has now quit the force.

Amelia Shearer was given a five-year final written warning after being described as an ‘exceptional officer’ during her probationary period with Cleveland Police.

She was found guilty of gross misconduct after leaving a puddle of urine in a changing cubicle in Urban Outfitters while enjoying a boozy trip to York with a friend.

Now the young officer has quit her job when she was facing a vetting process used to root out officers who are not making the grade with the force.

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Acting Superintendent John Bonner said the former PC was one of five officers to have left the force in recent months when they came under the scrutiny of its vetting process.

He said: “These vetting powers have always existed but Cleveland Police, like most forces around the country, were previously not enforcing them effectively enough.

“In the case, she was due to be served with a regulation notice but chose to resign from her role in the police.”

The probationary officer had been challenged about her behaviour on the afternoon of September 11, 2021, and was found to have lied under caution when she was formally interviewed by North Yorkshire Police.

A disciplinary panel heard was told that the Crown Prosecution Service discontinued an investigation into criminal damage as there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

Another officer to be forced out was Thomas Gair who subjected his partner, who like him was a trainee police officer in the Cleveland force, to frequent physical beatings but also to psychological abuse, with taunts and humiliation, often belittling her.

Earlier this year, Durham Crown Court heard he reacted badly to news of her pregnancy and questioned whether she wanted to go through with it.

But while she was carrying the unborn child he pushed her downstairs, rendering her briefly unconscious, requiring hospital treatment, while he also pushed her out of his car, on another occasion, before driving at her on the drive way.

Imposing the total five-year sentence, for which Gair must serve half behind bars being eligible for release on licence, Judge Jo Kidd also made him subject of a ten-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his ex-partner or approaching her home.

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The force used the vetting process to relieve him of his duties and avoid waiting for a misconduct hearing to take place when the force would have been left paying his wages while he was behind bars.

The process is designed to ensure that the highest ethical and professional standards are imposed across a force and is effective in identifying those who officers and staff who pose a potential risk to others.

Temp Supt Bonner said: “The vetting process is a really valuable tool and we have to be careful that it is not abused but in cases like this one, we are able to act swiftly and get people out of the force.

“We are really confident that the vetting process can be used to ensure that all officers and staff are fit for their role within the force.”