SACKED: Met Police officer tried submitting FRAUDULENT documents to continue work as Uber driver
A Metropolitan Police officer was dismissed without notice after submitting fraudulent documents to Uber in an attempt to continue working as a private hire driver on the side.
A misconduct panel heard that PC Muhammed Darr was still on probation as a new officer when he was arrested in November 2019 on suspicion of fraud.
According to a Met Police panel notice report, it was alleged that PC Darr falsified a private hire licence and insurance documentation and uploaded it to the Uber Ltd platform as if it were a real document. The documents put forward were being used as part of a licence renewal process to continue working as an Uber driver, when PC Darr knew that it was not a real document.
PC Darr also had a duty to inform the Met that he was subject to criminal enquiries or a criminal investigation. According to the police panel report there was ‘evidence that he attempted to conceal that he was a police officer from investigators’.
It was finally alleged that the officer had failed to declare any business interest.
PC Darr had been working as an Uber driver since 2018 whilst employed by the Metropolitan Police. It is also a matter of fact that he did not disclose this business interest to the Metropolitan Police.
The former officer first fell under suspicion after submitting a new application to Uber using a hired car in place of his own car. It was at this time that Darr presented fraudulent documents in the form of a Transport for London (TfL) private hire licence and a motor insurance policy both submitted to Uber.
During a police interview, PC Darr claimed he met a man on Gumtree and paid £100 for the documents. Darr said that he was only aware that they were fake when concerns were flagged by the ride-hailing giants Uber.
Darr stood trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 11 April 2022 and was acquitted on 13 April 2022 of all 4 counts of fraud.
However, the police misconduct panel concluded Darr did know the documents were fake when he submitted them to Uber.
The Met Police panel ruled: “On the evidence that this was a renewal application he has been through the process before and would know what is involved. There is nothing before us to suggest that a legitimate application to TfL would have been unsuccessful.
“He is a police officer and common sense would have told him that any apparent offer by a third party found on Gumtree to cut corners in the application process would be suspicious.”
The panel added: “We are also satisfied on balance of probabilities that there was a deliberate decision by PC Darr to conceal the fact he was a police officer in that investigation.”
The misconduct hearing concluded: “Overall there was a finding of gross misconduct and the officer was dismissed without notice.”