'Power crazy' PC arrested man for parking by his home

A police officer described as "power crazy" launched a tirade of abuse at a woman in front of her grandchildren and became so angry at people parking outside his house he dragged a man out of his car and arrested him.

Former Merseyside Police constable Richard Coombs also confronted two other women and looked one of them up on a police database, despite them having parked legally on a public street.

The officer was found guilty of gross misconduct and sacked after a disciplinary hearing at the force's headquarters.

Det Chief Supt Sabi Kaur, head of Merseyside's Professional Standards Department, said Coombs' behaviour had been "totally unacceptable".

The misconduct panel, chaired by former deputy chief constable Ian Critchley, heard Coombs had angrily confronted the victims on 10 November 2023 and 19 July 2024.

It heard the earlier incident involved Coombs "choosing to escalate" a road rage-type disagreement needlessly when he "could and should have driven away".

The grandmother said Coombs had flashed his warrant card at her and swore at her, describing him as "power crazy".

The next set of incidents all occurred on 19 July 2024, when Coombs was away from work on sick leave, although the details of his health problems were not aired publicly.

The panel heard by that time he had "developed an irrational belief" that a local florist was arranging for people to park outside his home.

Lawyers for Coombs said that belief was "was indicative of how the officer had been feeling at the time".

The panel heard Coombs had "probably been watching the road" outside his home and when a man parked there he immediately rushed outside with his warrant card in the pocket of his shorts.

The off-duty officer "aggressively" confronted the man, the panel heard, and when the victim swore back at him Coombs grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the car, causing a minor injury.

Coombs then called 999 and asked for assistance, but "avoided answering" when an operator asked why he had arrested the man.

In a written judgment Critchley said: "[Coombs] had taken unnecessary action towards a member of the public that had parked outside of his house momentarily and lawfully."

He said Coombs had also "placed himself on duty" despite being off sick and "continued to escalate" the incident by calling Greater Manchester Police, who covered the area where he lived.

Critchley described using the 999 system and calling for on duty officers as "a waste of police time".

The panel heard the same day, Coombs had noticed a woman parking near his driveway and followed her into the florist - where he told her she had committed a criminal offence and said he had accessed her details on the Police National Computer (PNC).

Critchley wrote: "It was extremely invasive behaviour and an unlawful use of the police PNC system.

"The panel was satisfied that his actions were designed to intimidate her, which according to the witness statement, they did."

He said even after the woman apologised to calm him down, despite having done nothing wrong, Coombs threatened to have her car towed away.

Coombs also confronted the third woman outside his home and flashed his warrant card that day, who told detectives she had felt "intimidated, frightened and bullied".

Her confidence in the police had also been "seriously diminished", she said.

Critchley said Coombs' behaviour had caused "physical and emotional harm to innocent members of the public".

"At the heart of this case was a lack of self-tolerance, respect, and an abuse of authority," he said.

"The panel determined that these are fundamental aspects of policing, and the wider public must be able to trust police officers."

Coombs' name has been added to the College of Policing's barred list prohibiting him from working in any policing role in England and Wales again.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.