Pregnant GMP officer who begged to keep her job dismissed after 'terrible lapse in judgement'

A police officer has been dismissed from GMP for drink driving. PC Jarmila Kocanova, who was convicted for the offence after pleading guilty in court last June, was more than four times the legal limit when she was caught.

Apologising for her actions, the Rochdale resident said she 'genuinely regrets' the events which took place last April. At a misconduct hearing on Friday (April 28), a Police Federation representative urged the force not to dismiss her, telling GMP's top cop that the move would effectively make her homeless.

It comes after the father of her unborn child fled to Slovakia, leaving her with no family or support network in this country when she is due to give birth in August, according to her representative. GMP chief constable Stephen Watson said he fully accepts the officer's expressions of remorse but concluded that she should be dismissed with immediate effect.

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He said: "What is clear to me, is that this episode marks a terrible lapse in judgement which flies in the face of the evidence provided which suggests PC Kocanova is an otherwise decent and hardworking officer who has shown significant early potential. It remains clear, however, that all of these personal attributes do not outweigh the potential loss of confidence that would ensue if PC Kocanova was permitted to continue to perform in the office of constable."

The chief constable was told at the hearing that the lowest exceedance of alcohol recorded on the evening of the offence - April 22, 2022 - was 141 micrograms per 100 millilitres, four times the legal limit of 35 micrograms. Representing GMP, solicitor Gareth Madgwick also said that the officer stated she has no