Daniel Greenwood: Chief Superintendent abused position by having relationship with rookie Caitlin Howarth
A married police chief who breached COVID guidelines to have sex with a glamorous rookie police officer resigned ahead of a misconduct hearing.
Chief Superintendent Daniel Greenwood, 41, is said to have abused his position by striking up a relationship with student officer Caitlin Howarth.
The district commander in Bradford swapped flirtatious texts and sexually explicit pictures with the university graduate, 17 years his junior.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.A disciplinary hearing in Wakefield heard Greenwood exploited the age gap, having helped her in 2020 to join West Yorkshire Police aged 20.
The ‘obviously inappropriate’ fling caused ‘tittle-tattle and gossip in the ranks’.
John Beggs, KC, representing the force, said: ‘Whatever her sexual desires for Greenwood, it ought reasonably to have been obvious to an officer of [his] length of service, age, and rank that she was vulnerable.’
The panel was told that Greenwood twice had sex with the young woman after he successfully helped her apply for a job, having been introduced to Ms Howarth by her mother in 2019.
But when the affair came to light in November 2021, Greenwood attempted to perform a factory reset on his iPhone to conceal the evidence.
Mr Beggs added that when the couple had sex in January 2021, Greenwood ‘probably breached’ COVID stay-at-home rules.
He ended his 20-year career yesterday ahead of the hearing – the day criminal misconduct charges were dropped against Ms Howarth. She was alleged to have failed to report links to Joseph Shaw, 29, a convicted drug dealer who appeared on Channel 4’s First Dates.
Ms Howarth, who has also quit West Yorkshire Police, is subject to a misconduct investigation over the affair.
Greenwood, allegedly not fit to give evidence due to post-traumatic stress, was not present at the hearing but admitted discreditable conduct amounting to gross misconduct.
A panel decides today if his conduct would have led to his dismissal had he not quit.
