The grieving widow of a PC who was killed in the line of duty hit out at the former chairman of the Police Federation after he made a ‘sexually suggestive’ comment about comforting her, a misconduct panel heard.
Lissie Harper, the wife of late PC Andrew Harper, said it was ‘highly inappropriate’ of John Apter to allegedly say ‘I’d like to comfort her in my hotel room’.
Mrs Harper also suggested that the police leader abused his senior position by making the remark, for which he faces gross misconduct charges.
Apter – then-head of the police’s rank-and-file union – allegedly made the ‘sexually suggestive’ comment about Mrs Harper to colleagues while organising a visit from her four years ago to collect a posthumous award on behalf of her late husband, Andrew Harper.
Apter is also accused of groping a much-younger constable’s bottom on a police night out and telling a pregnant colleague ‘maybe you’ll get a bum now’.
An investigation was launched by the IOPC and he has been brought before a nine-day Hampshire Constabulary gross misconduct hearing at the force’s HQ in Eastleigh.
On Tuesday, the hearing was told Mrs Harper attended an awards ceremony at the Annual Roads Policing Conference in January 2020 – five months after her 28-year-old husband was killed attempting to stop a getaway car.
Apter gave a speech at the ceremony and handed Mrs Harper the posthumous award.
Barrister Cecily White, representing Hampshire Constabulary, said the night before the ceremony PC Apter made the remark about Mrs Harper which had an ‘obvious sexual connotation’.
The panel heard that upon being told about the comment, Mrs Harper said that if Apter did make the remark it was ‘highly inappropriate from someone in that position’.
Ms White added: ‘It was a bereaved widow who was accepting a posthumous award.’
Mrs Harper has not been called to give evidence at the hearing. But Martin Buhagiar, then Head of Communications of the Federation, told the panel Apter would indulge in ‘locker room bloke banter’ with a male colleague and claimed that you ‘got used to’ comments like the remark about Mrs Harper.
Speaking about the January 2020 awards ceremony, Mr Buhagiar said the main priority was taking care of the widow as it was her first public appearance since her husband-of-four-week’s death.
‘We wanted to make sure everything was done in the right way’, Mr Buhagiar said.
‘Somebody said something along the lines of if she needs comforting we bring her in in the right way and if she needs a pause we afford her that pause.’
He said they were in a huddle discussing logistics about the event and Mrs Harper’s arrival.
‘I remember him (Apter) saying something like ‘I’d like to comfort her in my hotel room’, Mr Buhagiar added.
‘It took me a few seconds to hear it because at first I took it as him saying he could look after her, but then the penny dropped and there was an awkward silence.’
Mr Buhagiar said he then quickly wrapped up the conversation and the group of colleagues disbanded, but discussed the remarks later.
When asked why he didn’t call out Apter immediately, Mr Buhagiar said there was a culture within the Federation whereby it was not unusual to hear comments like that.
Mr Buhagiar, who left the Federation in 2022 and set up his own communications business, said he believes the organisation still has the same culture.
Apter is also accused of groping a young constable’s bottom on a night out before the 2021 Police Bravery Awards in London that December.
He is said to have groped her and whispered in her ear ‘is that OK?’
On Tuesday Ms White said the incident happened after Apter bought the woman, named only as Female A, drinks in an apparent attempt to get her drunk.
Today, Mr Buhagiar told the panel that at the 2020 awards, which were held in October 2021 after being delayed by the pandemic, Apter swigged from a hip flask throughout the evening and got drunk.
Mr Buhagiar said at the end of the evening Apter filmed a short video interview about how the night went, but it could not be used because he was too drunk.
He told the misconduct hearing that Apter enjoyed ‘locker room bloke banter’ with Federation Vice Chairman Che-Paul Donald.
However, Mr Buhagiar said if a woman was in the room ‘it was more professional’.
Mr Buhagiar also told the panel that ‘the Police Federation was not a nice place to work’ and said ‘it was not a professional organisation’.
Apter was suspended as chairman of the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, in 2021 after accusations about his behaviour.
Now retired, he enjoyed a 30-year career in policing.
The hearing continues.