Police instructor caused £10k petrol bomb damage

An instructor has been banned from policing after a disciplinary found he threw petrol bombs to celebrate the end of a training course.

The ruled James Duthoit committed gross misconduct and would have been sacked had he not already resigned from the Metropolitan Police.

Fire caused by the petrol bombs resulted in around £10,000 worth of damage to the force's public order training centre in Gravesend, Kent, in 2022, the said.

Mr Duthoit, who did not attend the hearing in May, denied misconduct and involvement in throwing petrol bombs.

The found, however, it was proved on the balance of probabilities that Mr Duthoit had been one of several officers involved in throwing petrol bombs.

It is "incredulous" that the incident would have happened without his "instigation and full involvement", they said, especially as he was the lead instructor.

Mr Duthoit's actions "were reckless and created a risk of serious physical harm", according to the 's findings.

It said his behaviour was "akin to the criminal offence of criminal damage" and "undermines public confidence" in the Met.

"The incident was aggravated by the fact that he was drunk and tried to conceal his wrongdoing by trying to extinguish the fire himself," the added.

Students and instructors celebrated the end of a five-week course led by Mr Duthoit by going out for a meal and drinks before returning to the training centre, according to the 's report.

Petrol bombs that were made for training purposes were thrown inside a courtyard, which set alight the interior wall, window fittings, and a stripped car used during courses, it said.

Around 150 fire extinguishers were used to put out the blaze, which "caused significantly more damage than it otherwise might have done if the fire brigade had been called," the added.

Mr Duthoit accepted he was present during the incident in his response to the accusations, the said, but had "no recollection of personally ever throwing a petrol bomb".

The former officer said in a 2023 statement that "clearly no-one thought there was any prospect of damage being caused", according to the report.

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