The Metropolitan Police Service in the United Kingdom has dismissed Nigerian-British officer Shola Balogun of Bromley Police Station for allegedly biting a colleague at a birthday party in Bexleyheath, Kent.
This decision followed a formal hearing chaired by senior officer Christopher McKay, with IPM Amanda Harvey and Assessor-Detective Superintendent Kirsty Mead.
According to the hearing document, Balogun attended a party at Goals Sports Bar in April 2022 to celebrate a fellow officer’s 40th birthday, where around 70 people were present, including another police officer, who is the alleged victim.
The report stated that Balogun and the victim had known each other since 2018, having worked together at Bromley Police Station and shared a friendly relationship.
The document noted, “There had been light-hearted horseplay between them in the past but no significant falling out.”
The alleged incident took place around 11:30 pm, when the victim claimed Balogun grabbed his glasses, dropped them on the floor, and, after a brief confrontation, bit him on the right side of his face. Medical reports confirmed the bite, but Balogun denied these allegations, saying he only knocked the glasses off by accident.
A summary of the findings read: “The Regulation 30 Notice alleges that by acting in the way described, PC Balogun brought discredit to the police service and undermined public trust in the Metropolitan Police Service.”
While colleagues spoke highly of Balogun’s previous conduct, the panel found the bite incident to be in clear violation of police standards. They noted, “Assaulting a fellow officer is clearly unacceptable and discreditable behaviour,” and determined that a final warning was not sufficient punishment.
The panel’s final decision was dismissal without notice, concluding that “The only appropriate and proportionate outcome in this case is Dismissal Without Notice.”
