Former Bedfordshire police officer intimidated parking warden after he was given ticket and threatened to arrest her

A former Bedfordshire police officer who tried to intimidate a parking warden would have been dismissed for his behaviour had he not already resigned, a misconduct hearing ruled.

Ex-PC Paulo Soares was off duty when he confronted the parking enforcement officer near to his home address in Cambridgeshire. She had asked him to move his vehicle which wasn’t parked in a bay, but he refused and then filmed her for the next 30 minutes during which he threatened to arrest her and was said to be ‘rude’ and ‘sarcastic’.

At an Accelerated Conduct Hearing held at force headquarters in Kempston last week, Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst was told Mr Soares had accepted a community resolution order following a criminal investigation into the incident.

Mr Rodenhurst said he had ‘no hesitation’ in finding the conduct breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour for Honesty and Integrity; Respect and Courtesy and Discreditable Conduct. He added the behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and that he would have faced instant dismissal had he not already resigned.

He said: "This officer subjected [the parking enforcement officer] to an ordeal that lasted for over half an hour. The behaviour was in my view extremely intimidating and fell far below the standards expected of officers in this force."

Mr Soares will be added to the College of Policing Barred List, banning him from returning to policing or other similar professions.