A Surrey Police officer was handed a final, written warning after an independent investigation found that he acted inappropriately with a woman experiencing mental health issues he had previously detained.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said that Surrey PC Jason Cooling was found to have breached the "Standards of Professional Behaviour for authority, respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct" at a hearing organised by Surrey Police on July 19.

The IOPC investigation into Coolings actions started in June 2020 after a referral from Surrey Police relating to an incident in May 2020.

PC Cooling and another officer were deployed to a situation where a woman was experiencing mental health issues.

The IOPC revealed how they detained the woman and she was taken to a local hospital, where she was initially monitored by PC Cooling and his colleague.

Later on, her supervision was handed over to two other officers and the woman told them that she and PC Cooling had gone out for a long chat in the night and that she had learned information about his private life.

Other officers then raised their concerns about this, and checks revealed that the woman and PC Cooling were following one another on Instagram.

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The IOPC, whose investigation ended in September 2020, said that they had not found that PC Cooling and the woman formed a physical relationship, but added:

"We found that PC Cooling may have acted inappropriately by disclosing personal information about himself and contacting the woman on Instagram.

"College of Policing guidelines clearly state that officers must not engage in, or pursue, a sexual or improper emotional relationship, on or off duty, with any member of the public that they come into contact with during the course of their current work or duties."

A gross misconduct hearing was held and the disciplinary panel found that Cooling’s communications with the woman at the hospital were appropriate, but the messages he exchanged with her over social media were inappropriate and not in the course of his policing duties.

The panel also found PC Cooling later deleted these messages in an attempt to conceal his wrongdoing and failed to notify Surrey Police of the private communications he had with the woman, the IOPC said.

IOPC Regional Director, Graham Beesley, offered the following statement on the case: "Police officers abusing their position to form inappropriate relationships for sexual purposes erodes the trust and confidence the public has in policing. There are policies and guidance in place to ensure police officers maintain professional boundaries whenever they interact with members of the public.

"PC Cooling crossed those boundaries and then tried to conceal his behaviour. Receiving a final written warning reflects the seriousness of this matter and serves as a reminder to other police officers of their obligation to know the line around abusing their position in this way and that it is never acceptable."