A police inspector for Avon and Somerset Police who formerly chaired the National Black Police Association has been dismissed without notice after he assaulted two women while off-duty during a conversation about Meghan Markle.
Bristol-based Tola Munro ‘completely lost control’ when he dragged a woman to the ground before punching her in the face and then hitting a second female, a misconduct panel was told.
The incident began when the father-of-four was off-duty and was the result of a discussion about the Duke of Sussex and race.
Munro denied the allegations against him and claimed he was acting in self-defence.
Legally Qualified Chair Jane Jones, who is independent of policing, ruled Inspector Tola Munro’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and labelled it a ‘terrible irony’ and said he had previously helped tackle violence against women and girls.
Bristol-based Tola Munro dragged a woman to the ground before punching her in the face and then hitting a second female, a misconduct panel was told
The incident began when he was off-duty and was the result of a discussion about the Duke of Sussex and race
As well as being dismissed, Munro will be added to the barred list to preventing him serving again.
The panel heard that as the conversation became ‘heated and personal’ Munro should have ‘risen above provocation’ and that he caused ‘distress’ to both women, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Ms Jones said the violence was ‘deliberate’ and had caused ‘significant reputational harm to the force.’
Gwent Police carried out a criminal investigation into the incident, which happened in May 2023, culminating in the case being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, which deemed there was insufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of a successful prosecution.
Munro, who was serving as a neighbourhood officer in south Bristol at the time, was suspended while the criminal and misconduct investigations were carried out.
The panel ruled Inspector Munro had breached two standards of professional behaviour, specifically in relation to discreditable conduct, as well as authority, respect and courtesy.
Ms Jones said Munro’s violence was ‘deliberate’ and had caused ‘significant reputational harm to the force’
Superintendent Mark Edgington: ‘The burden of proof required for a criminal prosecution and misconduct to be proven is different.
‘The panel reached its decision that Inspector Munro assaulted the two women on the balance of probabilities having heard the evidence presented to them. A criminal conviction requires allegations to be proved beyond all reasonable doubt, and the difference between those levels is significant.
‘Ultimately, there is no place in policing for an officer who is found to have assaulted any member of the public. Whether on or off-duty, officers and staff must adhere to the standards expected of anyone serving in policing and Inspector Munro failed to do this.
‘As an organisation we have carried out a huge amount of work in recent years around the topic of violence against women and girls. Inspector Munro’s actions have undermined those efforts and will likely damage public confidence in policing.
‘We hope the public can see from the actions we have taken that these allegations have been taken seriously from the moment we learned of them.
‘The public’s trust in policing is dependent on rooting out any officer, no matter their rank or experience, who should not be serving the public. We hope the robust action taken in this case highlights that commitment.’
