A FORMER Essex Police officer would’ve been sacked if he hadn’t resigned, a misconduct panel has ruled.

Former PC Andreas Averkiou failed to attend mandatory training on domestic abuse on several occasions between August and October last year.

He also faced an allegation of not recording his duties accurately after failing to attend work for a rostered shift and working alternative hours without prior authorisation in June this year.

The allegations against him were heard by a misconduct panel chaired by independent legally qualified chair Andrew Hearn.

The panel found the allegations against Mr Averkiou were proven and amounted to gross misconduct.

He resigned from the force in July this year and has now been barred from policing.

Following the conclusion of the misconduct hearing, Dep Ch Con Andy Prophet said: “Training is incredibly important – it ensures officers and staff have the knowledge they need to do their job.

“In this case, the training related to domestic abuse, the greatest cause of harm in our county.

“Honesty and integrity, as was sadly lacking in this case, is something I and the public rightly expect from everyone with the privilege of working for Essex Police.”