A hero police officer who won a commendation for rescuing a toddler from a burning house has been sacked for speeding to work during a staffing crisis.
Custody Sgt Tim Perrin, 43, was dismissed by Devon and Cornwall Police after being found to have acted dishonestly when he tried to appeal against the speeding fine.
The father of two, who had a 20-year unblemished career in the police, was fired last week over the one-off incident that happened almost two years ago.
He said the experience had completely shattered his faith in the police misconduct process and made him fear for the future of the service.
Mr Perrin accused the force of spending ‘well over six figures’ on investigating his case at a time when they could not afford to attend burglaries or shopliftings.
He said: ‘I am not surprised they came to the decision they did in the end as cancel culture in the police is rife. There is a huge over-reaction to things nowadays.
‘The pendulum has swung completely in the opposite direction and forces are just desperate to show that they are squeaky clean. Officers are no longer given the benefit of the doubt.’
Mr Perrin has warned that the police’s actions are causing experienced officers to leave in their droves, and they are being replaced with young inexperienced recruits – which is bad for policing and bad for the public.
The decision was made despite Mr Perrin receiving a string of commendations after he entered a burning building to rescue a toddler who had become trapped on the third floor in 2008.
In a glowing citation, the local fire chief wrote he and his colleagues had placed themselves at considerable risk for bravely saving the life of the child.
Mr Perrin, who is now working as a maintenance man in Torquay, told the Telegraph the outcome has had a devastating impact on him and his partner, Lisa, who is also a serving police officer.
His case echoes that of Pc Lorne Castle’s, which involved him being dismissed by neighbouring Dorset Police for using ‘disproportionate force’ when he tackled a teenage knife-wielding thug during an arrest in Bournemouth in January 2024.
A Stanley-like knife fell from the boy’s waistband during his arrest, but a misconduct panel said PC Castle – who put his hand in the teen’s face and on his neck and jabbed his finger at him – failed to act with self-control or show the boy ‘courtesy and respect’.
The decision caused outrage and the father-of-three went on to LBC Radio where he said he had received thousands of messages of support. A GoFundMe campaign to support him and his family has raised over £120,000.
Sgt Perrin’s case dates back to August 2023 when he was asked if he would be able to make a 45 minute drive to Plymouth the following morning to help cover a staffing crisis in the custody cells there.
But just before he was about to set off, he said he received a message from an officer at the Plymouth station asking him to hurry as things were getting out of control.
Rushing to his colleague’s aid, Sgt Perrin admitted putting his foot down in order to get there as soon as was safely possible.
At some point during the journey he was pictured by a speed camera doing 48mph in a 30mph zone.
A few days later he received a letter notice of intended prosecution.
He decided to appeal against the ticket on the basis he believed had been fulfilling a valid policing purpose, with his boss agreeing.
But when the appeal was rejected, Sgt Perrin accepted the decision, paid the fine and took the points – thinking that would be the end of the matter.
However in January 2024 he was stunned to learn he was being investigated for gross misconduct over his allegedly ‘dishonest account’.
The force’s department of professional standards had raised suspicions over some alleged inconsistencies in his account and suggested he had lied about receiving the call urging him to get to Plymouth as soon as possible on that day.
Although he was shocked by the development, he thought the investigation wouldn’t go anywhere as he thought he hadn’t done anything wrong.
He was interviewed last spring and was asked to give a very detailed account of the incident, which was almost a year earlier.
This made recalling every aspect of that specific day very challenging, he said.
The force tried to speak to officers who had been on duty at Plymouth who might have made the phone call to Sgt Perrin, but he said as there was nothing remarkable about what happened they understandably could not recall the conversation.
Sgt Perrin’s case was then escalated to a hearing, which caused him to worry.
He faced the misconduct panel on June 16 where, on the balance of probabilities, the force found the case against was proven and he was dismissed.
According to Sgt Perrin, he was ridiculed and patronised for several hours when he was grilled by the barrister representing the force.
He said they tried to discredit him and make him look like he had done something wrong.
His attempted to explain that he had not been dishonest, but that perhaps his account was poorly worded in places and left open to interpretation for people who worked outside of the custody environment.
But because gross misconduct had been proven on the balance of probabilities, and it was an honesty and integrity issue, the only outcome could be dismissal without notice.
The force made the decision despite all of the good character evidence that Sgt Perrin put forward, and how well he was respected in his local community.
He has said he feels he has been treated ‘worse than any criminal’ and questioned the force’s disproportionate time and effort to investigate his offence, which is far beyond what the force would invest into investigating actual crime.
Sgt Perrin estimated the cost to the public would be well over six digits, while at the same time there is no money to attend burglaries or shopliftings.
As well as saving the toddler from a burning building, Sgt Perrin on another occasion, won praise for being part of a Taser crew who successfully tackled a man believed to be armed with a shotgun.
He also received a third commendation for heroically rescuing a man who had fallen down a coastal cliff during a storm.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement: ‘Following a two-day gross misconduct panel hearing this week, Mr Perrin was found to have been culpable for gross misconduct and dismissed with immediate effect.
‘Mr Perrin was found to have breached standards of professional behaviour in terms of honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct.
‘This related to his reply to a notice of intended prosecution following a speeding offence in his private vehicle. The panel did not accept the account provided by the officer to be true and found the actions of this officer were deliberately misleading for personal gain representing a lack of integrity and undermining public confidence in the police service.
‘As with all cases of this nature, a full report from the gross misconduct panel chair will be submitted to the force in due course, provided to Mr Perrin and published on our website.’
In a post on his Twitter account after the hearing on June 17, Mr Perrin wrote: ‘Today, after over 20 yrs as a dedicated, decorated and highly skilled officer, I was dismissed for providing a ‘misleading account’ in relation to a speed camera activation application for exemption when rushing to help colleagues whilst on duty.
‘I left with my head held high.
‘I’ve spoken with spectators present at the hearing. None can work out what I was actually dismissed for.
‘Yet we sack officers because it’s what the public expect. Do they really expect an officer with an unblemished, distinguished 20 yr career be sacked for something like this?’
A few days later on June 20 he added: ‘The outpouring of support, particularly from my D&C colleagues has been incredible and humbling.
‘Unfortunately this has been the catalyst for some who can draw an immediate pension to throw the towel in now. Retention of experience seems to be in major crisis up and down the UK.’
