A disgraced former student police officer would have been dismissed from the force after he was convicted of violently assaulting his partner.

Thomas Gair, now 24, from Middlesbrough, received a five-year prison sentence at Durham Crown Court in April after being convicted of controlling or coercive behaviour within a relationship, three counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, and stalking involving serious alarm or distress.

The guilty verdicts followed a week-long trial in March during which the court heard how Gair “terrorised” his partner in a three-year abusive relationship, which included physical beatings and psychological abuse.

It included him pushing his pregnant partner downstairs, leaving her briefly unconscious after he reacted badly to the news she was expecting a child.

The Northern Echo:

Passing sentence, Judge Jo Kidd told him he had “two faces”, one being the public face in which he sought to portray himself as an upstanding, caring individual, and the private one, in which he “terrorised” his now ex-partner.

During the trial the court heard that Gair had been discharged from the force.

Cleveland’s Chief Constable, Mark Webster, yesterday (Friday, November 24) chaired a gross misconduct hearing in relation to the former student officer.

The outcome of the hearing determined that Gair would have been dismissed from the force with immediate effect, should he still have been serving.

It ensures he will never be able to be part of the police service in future.

The hearing was told that Gair was a student officer with the force, studying to become a police constable, in January 2022.

While still in his training phase, the force received reports from other officers that he was perpetrating domestic abuse against his partner.

He was swiftly arrested and suspended from duty.

During the criminal investigation, the force Domestic Abuse Safeguarding Team (DAST) successfully obtained a Stalking Prevention Order against Gair.

Cleveland Police was able to revoke Gair’s vetting and discharged him from the service, prior to the criminal proceedings.

As part of the sentencing procedure, following the trial, he was also made subject of a ten-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his ex-partner or approaching her home.

In the wake of the misconduct hearing ruling Detective Chief Inspector John Bonner, from the Department of Standards and Ethics, said: “The force’s proactive approach to revoking vetting ensured that Gair was removed from the police service as swiftly as possible.

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“Cleveland Police will continue to impose rigorous processes in relation to any individuals who fall short of the standards of professional behaviour.

“No-one is above the law, especially those who are given the privilege of working to uphold it.”

Having overseen the hearing, Chief Constable Webster commended the bravery of the victim, and the courage of the officers who came forward in reporting the abuse.