A Met Police officer from south London was handed a "final written warning" by the force after he attempted to form a relationship with a woman he arrested.

Gross misconduct allegations were proven against PC Andrew Turner at a hearing organised by the Met Police force on Monday June 14.

He was found to have breached professional standards of behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation in June last year after the woman involved told them that Turner had "made inappropriate comments to her after arresting her".

"He later contacted her by phone. She reported it to police who made a mandatory referral to us," a spokesperson for the IOPC said.

Your Local Guardian: A second police officer involved in the arrest was also investigated and could face misconduct hearings. Image: Met PoliceA second police officer involved in the arrest was also investigated and could face misconduct hearings. Image: Met Police

"Evidence gathered during our five-month investigation indicated that PC Turner called her on his personal mobile while he was off duty.

"He made flirtatious remarks to the woman, who recorded their conversation and provided it as evidence," they continued.

The Met then organized gross misconduct hearings against Turner that were subsequently proven.

"Police officers abusing their position for sexual purposes erodes the trust and confidence of the public, this type of behaviour has no place in policing," IOPC Regional Director, Sal Naseem, said.

"There are policies and guidance in place to ensure police officers maintain professional boundaries between themselves and members of the public.

"PC Turner should have known from the training he received that he was crossing those boundaries," he added.

A spokesperson for law firm Irving Mitchell, who represent the complainant, told the Croydon Guardian: 

"Irvings Law Firm... state that it goes without saying that our clients (and the public in general) have the right to expect integrity in the police service and should have confidence in police officers to act in a professional manner.

"Unfortunately, there has been a definite shortfall in the service that our client has received from the Metropolitan Police and specifically PC Turner in this incident and there are grave concerns over how it has been dealt with as a whole especially with the finding itself not being harsh enough.

"Although this should never have occurred in the first place and despite our view of the finding reached by the panel, we welcome that it has been found that this police officer has breached his professional standards in the position of trust he finds himself in every single day of his working life and hope that this is a learning curve for the force as a whole."

The Met Police's Chief Inspector Matt Cox said: "The actions of PC Turner, in instigating and engaging in flirtatious conversation with a member of the public that he was having professional dealings with, was wholly inappropriate and fell far below the standards expected of a police officer."

The IOPC meanwhile confirmed that a second officer involved in the arrest of the woman in question had been investigated and that they had "found a case to answer for misconduct for making a sexual remark", expecting the Met Police to arrange an additional misconduct meeting for the officer.