A police officer struck off for sending sexual Snapchats to colleagues could have been stopped in his tracks much earlier, a woman who says he did the same thing to her claims.
The Northern Echo can reveal that allegations about PC Harry Weir's behaviour were made to Durham Police more than four years ago by the woman.
PC Weir later sent four female officers images of himself in bed, in his underwear, and of his crotch and genital area via the messaging app, a misconduct panel heard in May.
But The Northern Echo can now reveal that allegations of similar behaviour by PC Weir were made to Durham Police as far back as April 2021.
A female colleague told the force he had sent her videos performing a sex act - but no formal action was taken against him at the time.
Durham Police said “evidential difficulties” meant the case was not progressed, but PC Weir was spoken to by managers about the alleged conduct.
The woman who made the claims more than 18 months before the four colleagues complained about his behaviour told the Echo: “If they’d listened to me, they could have stopped this happening to four more women.”
Her allegations against PC Weir never went to a misconduct hearing and have never been proven.
In official statements from 2021 seen by this newspaper the woman, who left the force soon after and abandoned her career in policing, said: “[He] began to start sending messages stating he was ‘horny’ and asked if I ‘wanted to play?’ and if I ‘wanted to watch?’.
“Eventually I would not reply or just send messages to close the conversation down. However, when I done (sic) this, he would start sending videos of himself [performing a sex act] on Snapchat.
“[He] would send these videos whilst he was in bed at home in low light.”
She recently obtained statements she made to the force’s professional standards department at the time through Freedom of Information laws and shared them after the Echo reported on PC Weir’s misconduct hearing.
She initially told officers she sent one photo back, but the documents reveal he said she replied with multiple images. A police report said there was a belief she had “breached the standards of professional behaviour” herself and had “not made full disclosure when making [her] statements”.
No misconduct action was taken against her but she decided to resign. PC Weir had served in various parts of the county, occasionally as a temporary sergeant. He was suspended in 2022 and remained suspended until he resigned. He was found guilty of gross misconduct in relation to the 2022 allegations by four other colleagues only.
“I felt like I was being accused,” the woman added.
“I have been left with this mental trauma for the last four years with no closure.
“It does feel like a relief for him to be named and his story to have come out. I feel I wasn’t listened to and felt completely disregarded.
“One of them told the misconduct hearing he was hard to say no to - I told them in my statement he was ‘very persistent’ asking me to send him a picture back and I did. I instantly regretted it.
“An apology from Durham Police would be nice.
“I have had to resign, lose out on a lot of money, a career I worked hard for.”
A force spokesperson said: “Durham Constabulary expects our officers to always uphold the highest possible standards.
“In this instance, our Professional Standards Department launched a proactive investigation in April 2021 into the alleged sharing of inappropriate images between officers.
“A gross misconduct investigation was initiated, although not progressed to a hearing due to initial evidential difficulties which were addressed by the department.
“Consequently, PC Weir did not receive an official sanction at that time, but was given formal management advice around his future conduct.
“Further allegations were reported to the force in December 2022 and were promptly investigated, which concluded with a finding of gross misconduct against PC Weir.
“Durham Constabulary encourages all officers and staff to report inappropriate behaviour and will take appropriate action to investigate and address any concerns raised”.
The Echo was initially prevented from reporting PC Weir’s identity but successfully argued at the end of the hearing that he should be named.
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He did not attend the misconduct hearing which went ahead in his absence.
Speaking after the hearing Assistant Chief Constable Richie Allen said: “As assistant chief constable and chair of this misconduct hearing, I reiterate the standards expected of all members of the police service - we are a profession which has a public expectation of the highest standards being maintained at all times whether on or off duty.
“Where these standards are not met, it is important that the service react accordingly. It is imperative that the communities that we serve in County Durham and Darlington have trust and confidence in their police service.”
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