A former Derbyshire police officer, who was sacked in disgrace for headbutting an innocent member of the public, has been branded an immature idiot for harassing a female colleague.
Mark Knights, 35, of Tagg Lane, Monyash, Derbyshire, admitted one charge of harassment without violence when he appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on Thursday, 14th October 2021.
Harassment is an offence contrary to section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. It has a maximum penalty of 26 weeks' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction.
Knights, whose wife actually works in Derbyshire Constabulary's professional standards department, was dismissed from the force earlier this year as a result of his conviction for assaulting a motorist during a minor disagreement.
He was back in the dock after reducing a female colleague to tears by making a series of lewd comments to her, including "come and sit on my cock".
On another occasion Knights wrote in the complainant's A5 notepad: "I'm going to try and not be a cock. Truce/sex/carry on as normal?"
The offence took place between August and October 2020, when Knights was on bail in relation to the assault matter.
He spent much of that time performing menial duties at Matlock Police Station, as his bosses clearly thought (quite correctly, as it transpires) that he was too much of a liability to let out in public.
Knights broke the monotony of yard sweeping, tea making and car washing by targeting the complainant.
The prosecution agreed to accept his guilty plea on the basis that it related to two inappropriate interactions between him and the woman concerned, although there were several others.
In a victim personal statement, the complainant said: "I was struggling to fight back the tears.
"I was distraught and could not control my emotions. I spent nights at home just crying. I can't explain why.
"It was predatory. He thought I was new in service and thought he could get away with it.
"I never expected that I would have to deal with this at work. I'm a strong person but I had to say something."
Debbie Hubbard, mitigating, said: "He pleaded guilty to harassment on the basis of two inappropriate interactions.
"He was bored, immature and behaving in a childish and stupid manner. He's a grown man who is used to being on the frontline.
"He misconstrued the relationship he had with this officer.
"He was an idiot and he was immature.
"He is from a family of police officers. He has not taken this lightly and he has turned his life around."
District Judge Jonathan Taafe was clearly unimpressed by Knights' latest bout of abysmal conduct.
Addressing Knights, the Judge said: "The fact that you were a police officer is of course relevant because the public have the right to expect police officers to uphold high standards.
"It leads me to question what on earth was your attitude to members of the public? There is a breach of trust here to the public and to your colleagues.
"I have no doubt that the victim will have been prevented from carrying out her duties to some extent because of your activities.
"You have let the people of Derbyshire down and you have let your colleagues down. People have a right to expect behaviour of a professional manner.
"You are an extremely fortunate man not to be going into immediate custody today, given the current climate regarding trust in police officers.
"The only reason you have not gone into custody today is because this is low level harassment rather than persistent harassment causing long term distress."
Knights was sentenced to 12 weeks' custody suspended for 12 months, with 120 hours' unpaid work requirement.
He was also ordered to pay £150 in compensation, £300 towards prosecution costs and £95 victim surcharge.
Speaking in response to Knights' conviction, Chief Constable Rachel Swann said: "There is no place for harassment in Derbyshire Constabulary and we take reports such as this extremely seriously. We recognise how damaging behaviour like this can be, not only for our own staff as victims but for the trust the public places in us.
"Our legitimacy is built on public trust and confidence but we can't expect this from our communities if our officers and staff don't behave with integrity and respect towards the public we serve and towards each other."
She also praised those officers who reported Knights' unacceptable behaviour.
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