Cambridgeshire special constable dismissed after celebrating party which kept family awake all night

SC Ladislav Demeter, who volunteered as a Special Constable, was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct, amounting to gross misconduct.

The hearing heard the party was held on October 21 last year at SC Demeter’s home address in the West Midlands. The party started at approximately 11pm and continued throughout the evening until the following day.

During this time a neighbour with a young family were unable to sleep - even going to the home to request the music was turned down.

However, the neighbour was told to “pipe down” as ‘they just wanted to have fun.’

After this the neighbour and her partner overheard the people at the party talking about sorting them out and Police were called but did not attend.

In the morning celebrations were heard from the address for keeping the neighbours up all night. Threatening and abusive language was used about the neighbours.

SC Demeter then was seen outside the neighbour’s property and he was sticking his two fingers up and counting down the time till 7am – the time her child needs to get up and get ready for school.

In March this year, SC Demeter was given a criminal caution for pursuing a course of conduct which amounted to harassment.

Nick Dean, chief constable of Cambridgeshire police, said; “The criminal offence was captured in statements, audio recordings and admitted in interview by SC Demeter.

“Even when the neighbours requested the noise to be reduced rather than taking heed of this SC Demeter and those he was with have further antagonised the situation purposefully to cause further harassment.

“It is entirely unacceptable for special constables or constables, who are responsible for enforcing the law, to break the law themselves.”

He added: “The mental harm caused by the actions and behaviour of SC Demeter are significant to those affected by the harassment and it appears this has been an ongoing issue which has also been reported to the council.

“Moreover, the neighbours in the area are aware that Ladislav Demeter is a Special Constable therefore escalating the reputational damage. This damage is hard to undo.

“The public trust the police service and those working within it, to uphold the highest standards and not commit criminal offences themselves. If that trust is eroded the wider confidence in us as a public service no longer exists.

“Although this incident occurred within the West Midlands, the harm to the reputation of Cambridgeshire Constabulary and indeed the wider police service cannot be under estimated when cases such as this come to notice. This aspect of ‘harm’ and the reputational damage caused is significant.

“The acknowledgement from SC Demeter that what he did was wrong and his openness to apologise is recognised and to his credit. In addition, the report from Staff Sadler on the update from the Action Plan set from 9th January 2021 is also noted.

“I have fully considered the sanctions available to me and what would be proportionate with regards to this specific case. The purpose of the police conduct procedures is clear: maintain public confidence, uphold high standards in policing and deter misconduct, protect the public. Having considered the case before me today, my determination is that the least severe outcome that deals adequately with the issues identified whilst protecting the public interest is that SC Demeter should be dismissed without notice.”