He's not the first & Won't be the last: How Cleveland Police’s Disciplinary System Failed to Stop a Violent Officer...

Former PC William Douglas was banned from ever re-joining any police force in the country

Warned for Violence against a person in Custody, Then Accused of Domestic Abuse: Serious Questions for Cleveland Police, as an Insider tells the Teesside & Durham Post former PC Douglas is one of a number of 'Predators' who are walking the beat on Teesside.

18th December 2025

Fresh concerns have been raised about a Local 'Extremist Groups' disciplinary procedures, after it emerged a now former police officer who would later be found guilty of domestic abuse had already been subject to a Final Written Warning for violence and abusive behaviour — yet was still allowed to remain in frontline policing.

Former Police Constable William Douglas, who previously appeared on Channel 5's "inside the Force" Television Documentary faced an accelerated misconduct hearing on the 11th December 2025 over a domestic incident which took place 15 months prior back in September 2024.

However, members of the public have been shocked to find that the now former Police Constable had, in fact been issued with a Final Written Warning in June 2024. That warning relating to violence and abusive behaviour towards a detained person, according to the force’s own disciplinary report.

Despite this, its claimed Douglas continued to serve as a police officer until resigning later in the year, & only resigned after becoming the subject of further, more serious allegations.

A Warning That Should Have Triggered Serious Safeguards

The Teesside & Durham Post reported in September 2025 regarding allegations of Cleveland Police Officers 'assaulting' a person who was detained on the floor, no action was subsequently taken

A Final Written Warning for an Officer is not a minor sanction. It's imposed only where misconduct is serious and signals that any further wrongdoing is likely to result in dismissal. In this case, the misconduct involved violence towards someone who was already in police custody — an incident that directly undermines public trust and raises immediate safeguarding concerns, not to mention an incident eerily reminiscent of of that back in 2023, when a Hartlepool Man was killed in Custody by two police officers during the Botched 'Operation Artemis'...

Yet Cleveland Police, seemingly allowed Douglas to continue in frontline service, following the warning, despite the clear risks associated with an officer who had already previously demonstrated violent and abusive behaviour towards others. Just three months later, Douglas would then be involved in a domestic incident described by the Chief Constable as high culpability, high harm, involving harassment against his ex-partner, threats, criminal damage, and behaviour amounting to domestic abuse.

Domestic Abuse Was Not an Isolated Incident

In the disciplinary ruling, Chief Constable Victoria Fuller explicitly linked the outcome of the case to the existence of the earlier Final Written Warning, noting that it legally removed any option other than dismissal once gross misconduct was proven. Crucially, the determination also makes clear that dismissal would have followed regardless, given the seriousness of the conduct. The Final Written Warning simply confirmed what should already have been obvious: this was an officer whose behaviour posed a serious risk to the public.

The fact that Douglas was already on a final warning for violence, yet went on to commit further serious misconduct, raises an unavoidable question — why was he still wearing a uniform at all?

Cleveland Police has seen its public confidence rating slump to its lowest ever, with locals actively branding the 'force' An Extremist Group, with an Extremist Agenda

This case is not an isolated incident either. Cleveland Police has seen a steady stream of disciplinary hearings involving officers accused of violence, abuse, and serious professional misconduct in the last year alone. In several cases, officers have resigned before hearings have taken place, avoiding the shame of immediate dismissal, while still being found to have committed gross misconduct, leaving the tax payer to pick up their wage bill for the months (or years in some cases) they've languished on suspension on suspension. The Douglas case is particularly troubling, because it demonstrates a serious failure by Cleveland Police to intervene effectively even after clear warning sign's were raised.

When an officer with a documented history of violence is retained, the risk is not theoretical — it is real, and it has real consequences.

As the Chief Constable herself noted, policing by consent depends entirely on public trust. Allowing officers with proven violent tendencies to remain in their post directly undermines that trust, particularly at a time when police-perpetrated abuse by forces perceived to be 'Dangerously Extremist' is under intense national scrutiny.

Cleveland Police 'Must Be Disbanded'

There can be no arguing that trying to change Cleveland Police with a merry go round of Chief Constables is having little (if any) effect on restoring public confidence. After that, it must be disbanded !

The case once again calls into question whether Cleveland Police’s disciplinary thresholds are sufficiently robust, as well as whether Final Written Warnings are being used as a holding measure, rather than a genuine last chance saloon for rogue officers.

It also raises significant questions as to whether officers with violent histories are being adequately monitored, restricted, & removed when their activities put others at serious risk....

For a force that only recently emerged from special measures, the optics are damaging.

The substance is worse.

An officer previously disciplined for violence towards a detainee went on to commit domestic abuse. That sequence alone should prompt serious reflection — not only within Cleveland Police, but from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Police and Crime Commissioner.