'Sexually aggressive' Portsmouth police officer was 'Jekyll and Hyde' character, misconduct hearing told

Ex-PC Simon Hawxwell, 47, was based at Portsmouth Central police station during two alleged incidents in June 2020.

He is accused of holding scissors 2in away from Officer A’s face on June 17, and wrapping his arm around her neck the day before in the station yard.

A panel hearing the case against him today heard from PC Russell Ward who said Hawxwell was ‘very much a Jekyll and Hyde’ character.

PC Ward said: ‘He said a lot of stuff about peace and love and veganism and everyone should get along with each other and anti-war and stuff, and then on the other hand he would be overly sexualised and sexually aggressive with it.’

Hawxwell would say ‘overly sexualised things’ and ‘didn’t really care about who was listening or who heard’.

The former officer had been told to ‘pack it in’ when he previously spoke about sex.

In a statement read by Hampshire Police Federation’s member support officer Phil Callard, Hawxwell said the first incident involving Officer A was ‘a joke’ and added: ‘At no time did I place her in a hold.’

Hawxwell is alleged the next day to have put a pair of scissors near her face after being challenged for suggesting someone with ‘massive’ breasts should get a job.

In his statement, he said: ‘I thought I was being funny, the blades weren’t open.’

He previously worked at the Internet Child Abuse Team, where he had to view indecent images, and said ‘vulgar language and sexual humour would be commonly used in the workplace’.

This was so the team, in which he worked 2014-2017, could ‘vent,’ he said.

Hawxwell, who is not at the hearing, gave a statement to investigators claiming he was on the receiving end of treatment ‘verging on bullying’ due to his veganism.

He denies gross misconduct.

Earlier the hearing was told Hawxwell was ‘sent home for a week’ after a previous unrelated incident, and he was described as ‘eccentric’.

He was a ‘good officer, maybe sailed close to the wind,’ said one officer, and was ‘tactile’ and ‘lively’.

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Hawxwell said in his statement said he was sorry for saying anything the caused offence.

Misconduct hearing chair Alice Sims – flanked by panel members David Bates and Det Supt Tim Rowlandson – adjourned the case until tomorrow afternoon.

(Proceeding)

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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