A South Wales Police officer has avoided dismissal following a series of conduct breaches, including failure to secure firearms found during a search, and refusal to attend an emergency incident. The misconduct panel concluded that the officer’s autism contributed to the failings, and imposed a written warning.
PC Dorian Krzemien, who is originally from Poland, moved to the UK with his parents in 2006. He joined South Wales Police as a student officer in March 2022. The following year, he was referred to Professional Standards over three separate incidents that occurred across a four-month period in 2023.
The first allegation surrounded a visit Krzemien made to a property in Cefnpennar, Mountain Ash on the 15th May 2023. He attended a report of a disturbance, during which he saw three guns in the kitchen – a handgun and two rifles. He did not take any action at the time, and left without seizing the weapons or notifying his colleagues. The issue only came to light the following day when he asked his supervisor to review an intelligence report he had compiled in relation to the visit. When questioned by PS Lean about what he had done when the guns were identified, Krzemien gave an account that was later treated as unreliable, stating that he had examined the handgun and deemed it to be safe. It was not until other officers attended the property and examined the handguns they were found to be replicas firing ball-bearings.
For reasons not set out in the report, the Appropriate Authority dropped the dishonesty allegation at the start of the misconduct hearing and instead depicted his behaviour as a breach of duty and responsibility, and discreditable conduct. The panel found these proven on the basis that he failed to deal with the incident safely and effectively thereby undermining the confidence of those immediately involved, and public confidence in general.
The second allegation related to an incident on 18th May 2023, when a group of ex-pupils attempted to gain access to Aberdare Community School. It was reported that the group had already assaulted someone, causing a bloody nose. The incident was graded as a priority, and Krzemien was instructed by his sergeant to attend. He refused to do so when first directed. At the misconduct hearing, he stated that he had ‘misunderstood a verbal request from PC Jones, and ‘believed it related to another call he needed to attend that afternoon’. The panel accepted that explanation as genuine, noting that Krzemien did attend the incident later, but only after, what it described as, a delay in a member of the public receiving required assistance.
The third and final allegation concerned an off-duty night out in Cardiff on 19th August 2022, where Krzemien was accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague (‘Officer A’). It was alleged by PC Crimmings that at some point during the night Krzemien approached Officer A at the bar, reached up from behind, grabbed her breasts, and ‘tweaked her nipples’. PC Crimmings said he angrily remonstrated with Krzemien at the time, but no other witness recalled that exchange. PC Williams gave evidence that he witnessed contact between Krzemien and Officer A, and heard shouting, but said what he saw was neither sinister nor malicious, and that the evening continued in a jovial manner.
The alleged incident was not reported at the time, and only came to light ten months later after PC Crimmings made a ‘throwaway disclosure’ to his sergeant, who, in turn, reported it. Officer A did not report the incident herself and was described as reluctant when giving live evidence. She told the panel she remembered nothing of note from the evening, but did remember an arm being placed around her, which she described as ‘a friendly interaction’. Based on that evidence, and the absence of WhatsApp messages between officers discussing any such incident the following day, the panel did not find the allegation proven.
In respect of the first allegation, surrounding the gun incident, the panel then considered the appropriate sanction. Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Gilmer determined that Krzemien’s culpability was low. She stated that his failure to report the guns had ‘not created a dangerous situation’ on the basis that ‘he simply didn’t have the capability to be able to make that decision’. Further to this, Gilmer assessed Krzemien’s mitigation as high, inasmuch as his medical condition reduced his culpability and was ‘a contributing factor to his behaviour’. However, the final official report redacted the nature of his medical condition, only stating that it was based upon ‘expert’ opinion.
In reaching its final determination, the panel imposed the lowest available outcome – a written warning, to remain in place for 18 months.
Copper Stopper obtained an unredacted version of the published misconduct report, which revealed the full extent of the mitigation submitted by Krzemien. The document states that he relied on expert medical evidence indicating that he had been diagnosed with autism prior to the hearing. Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person communicates, processes information, and experiences social situations and sensory input. The point at which this was first raised, and the apparent absence of any prior declaration, raises questions about how fitness-to-serve risks were assessed, and what checks, if any, followed once the condition was relied upon as mitigation.
We asked South Wales Police to confirm whether Krzemien remains in a public-facing role, whether he is still attending emergency-graded incidents, and whether any investigation was conducted into any non-disclosure of the condition before, or during, his service.
South Wales Police did not respond.
