Detective inspector sacked for gross misconduct

A serving police officer has been sacked and barred from the profession after being found to have "abused his position" while being off-duty.

Det Insp Mark Portelli, of Dorset Police, was found to have committed gross misconduct and dismissed without notice following a hearing at the force's headquarters in Winfrith.

The force said it considered Portelli's behaviour towards nightclub door staff, another member of the public and attending police officers in Poole Hill, Bournemouth in March 2024.

It comes after he was cleared on appeal in April last year of a previous conviction of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

At the time, a force statement said there would be a subsequent review of the detective's conduct.

During the latest hearing, a panel found Portelli "had abused his position as a police officer and/or a police inspector and attempted to influence the way night club door staff dealt with him and/or the altercation he had with a woman by telling them he was a police officer" while being off-duty during the evening of 30 March into the early hours of 31 March 2024 in Poole Hill, Bournemouth.

It also found that he had "used his rank in an attempt to influence how his colleagues of lower rank dealt with him and/or the incident that he had been involved in".

He also spoke to those officers in a "challenging and/or arrogant and/or patronising manner", the panel found.

The force said during the hearing Portelli took "full responsibility" for his behaviour on the night and said he was "embarrassed and ashamed" of the language that he had used.

He also accepted his conduct at the time made the situation more difficult for his colleagues.

The panel determined Portelli had breached the standard of professional behaviour concerning authority, respect and courtesy as well as discreditable conduct and also honesty and integrity.

He will now be placed on the police barred list.

Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said: "The way Mark Portelli treated members of the public, who were performing their duties, was unacceptable and so was his conduct as a higher-ranking officer towards his colleagues, who were trying to resolve the incident in a professional manner.

"The officers attending the incident showed courage, integrity and clear impartiality and I commend them on their actions.

"We remain absolutely committed to ensuring officers whose actions fall below the high standards we expect of them are held to account and we want to send a message that there is no place in our organisation for someone who behaves in this way."