A Metropolitan police officer, Daniel Maddix, who confined his ex-girlfriend in his vehicle during a panic attack subsequent to an argument during a birthday celebration has received a final written warning. Multiple red flags and still in the Police, unbelievable!
PC Daniel Maddix faced allegations of three instances of gross misconduct occurring while he was off-duty, involving his then-partner residing in Kent, which he refuted.
The hearing revealed that the duo initially had a positive rapport, with Ms. A characterising the officer as a “nice guy” who also interacted nicely with her eight-year-old child.
She stated that she had no issues with their relationship until September 2022, when he allegedly enquired about her former partners and disparagingly referred to her as “a single mum from Greenhithe.”
Ms. A subsequently accused PC Daniel Maddix, a member of the uniform operations team, of intentionally preventing her from exiting his vehicle during their return from a birthday celebration on September 9, 2022.
The hearing revealed that upon arriving at the event, the mother presented him to her friends, including “Jack,” with whom she had previously had one date, at which point his behaviour altered.
She testified that he did not engage with anyone, expressed dissatisfaction towards her, and caused her embarrassment, prompting them to depart the party together in his vehicle.
Ms. A stated that he contested her regarding Jack’s presence at the party, and feeling uneasy, she informed him that their relationship would not be viable.
The panel was informed that, in reaction, PC Daniel Maddix bypassed the exit to her residence, inducing concern in her, and when she notified him of the error, he responded, “he was not her f taxi” and proceeded to drive away.
Ms A said she asked to get out and tried opening the door, but he sped up so she could not leave and refused to stop the car.
She told the panel she started to have a panic attack and was hyperventilating and “thought that [she] was going to die”.
However, PC Daniel Maddix denied that his behaviour had been “off” and that he was not “fazed” by the attendance of Jack and the couple were arguing about a joke he made at the party.
He claimed he did not remember her panicking or wanting to get out of his car, and he did not think anything untoward had happened, which the panel said was “implausible”.
The hearing was shown WhatsApp messages sent the following day (September 10), which the board found to be “persuasive” in confirming Ms A’s recollection of events.
The texts showed PC Daniel Maddix pleading for forgiveness for his “actions” and said he was “ashamed and overwhelmingly filled with guilt” and acknowledging that he would not let her out of the vehicle.
The panel said it was “incongruous that the officer would have messaged Ms A to ask her to forgive him for his actions if nothing more significant than a verbal argument had occurred.”
Ms A alleged that later that same day, PC Daniel Maddix turned up at her flat while she was watching a film with her son and was pleading for them to get back together.
Giving evidence, she said she felt scared and asked him to leave, but he tried to grab her phone and pulled at her legs and arms.
She claimed she then grabbed her son and ran out of her home in her pyjamas when PC Daniel Maddix shouted “your mum’s a fing wh” behind them.
The officer, who has served with the Met Police since 2008, accepted he raised his voice and may have said words to the effect of “you are acting crazy”, but denies swearing and attempting to hurt her.
He claimed not to know why she fled the flat and said he did not do anything to warrant her reaction, however, the panel found this implausible and was satisfied he did assault her.
Ms A further claimed that PC Daniel Maddix harassed her by repeatedly calling her after being blocked, attending her home unannounced with flowers, and blocking her exit by pushing against the door.
The panel found that the events did occur; however, it did not find that his actions were harassment, and the allegation was not proven.
Chairwoman of the misconduct hearing, Chiew Yin Jones, found that PC Daniel Maddix did breach the standard of professional behaviour of discreditable conduct, and it amounted to gross misconduct.
In her report, she said his actions in the two proven allegations would have an “adverse impact on public confidence in policing” as the public “would be concerned by the behaviour of a serving police officer towards his then partner”.
She added: “As a serving police officer, the panel took the view that he could reasonably have foreseen the risk of harm by his actions.
“However, the panel recognised that the officer was infatuated by Ms A, and was left ‘reeling’ from the breakdown of the relationship as evidenced by the officer’s WhatsApp messages to Ms A.
“It was reasonable to assume that the officer was caused stress as a result of the relationship breakdown that caused him to react irrationally and out of character.”
The report noted that there were no concerns about PC Daniel Maddix’s behaviour since 2022, he had not shown aggression in his next relationship, and he had no previous disciplinary findings.
He received a final written warning, which will be on his file for three years and was warned that any further misconduct may result in his dismissal from the force.
The hearing was held between March 31 and April 3 this year in London.
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