Police officer ‘put the frighteners' on woman in Yorkshire ‘as a favour’

West Yorkshire Police said PC Wioleta Wesolowska turned up in uniform at a house in Hastings Avenue, Wakefield, in June 2021 and made “false and inappropriate statements” to a woman who was having a dispute with her neighbour.

According to the force, she posed as a detective when she was off duty and claimed she had been sent to arrest the woman, even though she had not been “instructed or authorised” to deal with the dispute.

She also allegedly told the woman that she was on police bail and her child could be taken away by social services.

Wesolowska was found guilty of gross misconduct at a disciplinary hearing in Wakefield earlier this month and told that she would have been dismissed from the force if she had not resigned at an earlier date.

The officer said she received a call from a woman who asked for help because she was having a dispute with her neighbour – referred to as Miss X during the disciplinary hearing – and she used the police system to obtain information about her.

According to Wesolowska, she turned up at Miss X’s home for a “professional and polite” conversation and did not threaten to arrest her or contract social services.

“I was new to my role at that time and I accept that I have made honest mistakes in relation to my dealings with how policing works in the UK,” she added.

“I understand now that I should have checked with my supervisor before going to speak to the parties and also with the officer in charge.”

The misconduct panel found the officer’s evidence was not credible, as there were several discrepancies, but Miss X was an “entirely credible witness” who provided a consistent account throughout a 13-month investigation into the incident.

Miss X also provided a photograph of the officer holding her child on the day of the incident to support her version of events.

In its ruling, the panel stated that Wesolowska had only been there to “put the frighteners on Miss X as a favour to a friend of a friend”.

“The panel is in no doubt that former PC Wesolowska’s behaviour, if known, would seriously harm public confidence in policing,” the panel said.

“The public expect police officers to operate without fear or favour, and to only use their powers for legitimate policing purposes.

“Former PC Wesolowska’s behaviour, if known, would seriously undermine public confidence in policing.”

It added: “Former PC Wesolowska was entirely responsible for her own behaviour towards Miss X and knew or should have known that her actions would cause her distress.

“Police officers cannot be allowed to do favours for friends of friends, nor can they access police systems for their own reasons.

“No matter how well intentioned her actions were, former PC Wesolowska had sufficient training, knowledge and experience to know that she should not act as a freelance officer.”