The parents of Shana Grice have called the misconduct hearing into a former police officer who accused their daughter of wasting police time, five months before she was killed by her ex-boyfriend, “a sham”.
On Tuesday retired police officer Trevor Godfrey was found to have been in breach of police rules over his involvement in the case of 19-year-old Grice and her violent co-worker Michael Lane, but the panel fell short of saying he had committed of gross misconduct.
The lesser disciplinary offence of misconduct means that had Godfrey still been working, he would not have been sacked. Grice’s parents have called this charge “a joke” and asked what message it sends to serving police officers and what message it sends to victims.
Grice was murdered by Lane at her home in Brighton on August 25 2016. He slit her throat in her bedroom then tried to burn her body.
It later emerged that Grice reported her former boyfriend to police five times in six months but was fined £90 for wasting officers’ time after it emerged she misled them in initially failing to disclose the pair had previously been in a relationship.
The case was closed before her pleas for help were properly investigated.
During a two-day hearing, Godfrey, who retired from Sussex Police in December 2017 following nearly three decades’ service, defended his recommendation that no further action be taken against Lane following an accusation of assault.
Earlier he claimed Grice wasn’t being harassed in the lead up to her death as she had sent him text messages with kisses.
On Monday, Godfrey defended the decision to issue Grice with a formal warning for wasting police time, saying it was the “lenient option”.
In a statement, Grice’s parents, Sharon Grice and Richard Green, said: “We can barely believe what we have witnessed these past two days. The panel allowed a wholesale character assassination of our daughter, who is obviously not here to defend herself.
“Godfrey’s testimony only proved his discriminatory attitude, even accusing Shana of coercing Lane. We can barely believe what we have heard.
“To add insult to injury, we have been subjected to aggressive and bullying tactics from Godfrey’s representatives, yet we were the ones accused of trying to intimate him.
“The misconduct charge is a joke and the hearing a sham.
Her parents also believe that had Godfrey not retired, he would be allowed to carry on serving as a police officer.
They said: “What message does this give to other officers? Even more importantly, what message does it send to victims? We are disgusted and feel thoroughly let down by the process. There is no justice.”
The misconduct panel sitting in Lewes on Tuesday found Godfrey failed to adequately investigate allegations of harassment and stalking, and that he failed to treat Grice as a victim – behaviour which amounted to a breach of police rules.
Panel chairwoman Victoria Goodfellow said: “While clearly serious matters, they are not enough to mean gross misconduct.
“We do not attribute any blame on Shana,” she added.