The dismissal of former Sgt Terry Mayers marks a stark and troubling end to what had been described as a two decade career with Greater Manchester Police. Senior officers ruled his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct, citing repeated degrading and offensive sexual comments made to junior female colleagues. The misconduct finding rests squarely on the conclusion that he abused his position of authority and trust.
The disciplinary hearing was presented with numerous incidents. In August 2022 he sent an Instagram message to a junior colleague using an expletive to tell her that if she wanted somebody to have sex with her he would “drive up”. A year later, in a WhatsApp conversation with the same officer, he suggested they could have sex while on duty, adding “Quiet room on nights, undercrackers to the side”.
Other behaviour came to light. At Christmas 2022 he gestured towards another colleague’s bottom and asked: “What would it take for me to just hold it?” The panel heard he made repeated remarks to the same officer calling her bottom “the work of the Gods” and “fine work”. On another occasion, during a patrol, he asked a female colleague: “What would you do if I kissed you now?” He was also said to have persistently asked one officer if he could see any “naughty or revealing” photographs on her phone.
The disciplinary panel stated that his conduct had violated the dignity of colleagues and created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Although he admitted making inappropriate comments, he denied that they constituted gross misconduct. The panel disagreed. It found the messages and remarks to be deliberate and targeted attempts to establish an inappropriate sexual relationship and for sexual gratification.
The case sits heavily against the record of an officer said to have served exemplarily for more than 20 years and who was among the first responders when PCs Nicola Holt and Fiona Bone were murdered in Tameside in 2012. That long service did not mitigate the findings. The panel concluded he had seriously breached standards of professional behaviour and he was dismissed without notice.
