Leicestershire officer committed gross misconduct over mushroom foraging report

It was revealed that a police officer who was involved in an argument sparked by efforts to impose sanctions on a woman for picking mushrooms committed gross misconduct.

In November 2024, Louise Gather traveled from her home in Derby to Bradgate Park, Leicester, in search of magpie inkcaps, a rare species of fungus.

The 39-year-old told the BBC he was not picking mushrooms, but despite this former PC Christopher Vickers later went to his property and made a community resolution order.

But the misconduct panel found the man gave the papers to her husband and then lied when updating the official police database, claiming he had spoken directly to Mrs Gather.

The panel said he would have been dismissed over the incident had he not left the police force.

Mr Vickers’ actions were found to be dishonest, deliberate and had the potential to undermine the trust of the police.

Community resolution orders are an informal agreement between the complainant and the alleged offender and for this to be valid, Ms Gather would have to be spoken to directly, accept responsibility for the offense and sign the paperwork.

The report concluded that Mr Vickers did not follow this policy when issuing the decision.

Ms Gather has previously said the order includes agreeing not to take items from the park in the future and reviewing Bradgate Park’s status as a designated area of ​​special scientific interest (SSSI).

It is illegal to collect mushrooms in areas of special scientific importance, which are protected areas on land or in water.

At the time of the incident, Ms Gather said she felt Leicestershire Police’s actions were “a bit excessive”, but this was not considered by the misconduct panel.

The hearing, which took place in October, was told police received a call from Bradgate Park Trust on November 8, 2024, about a woman picking mushrooms in their park in Leicester.

On November 25, Mr Vickers went to his home address and advised his husband that he would make a community order, which is an informal agreement between the complainant and the alleged offender.

The husband signed the relevant paperwork before the officer left.

Following the visit, Mr Vickers made an entry into the police system stating that he had spoken to Ms Gather, that she had admitted the crime and received a community order.

In response to the allegation, the former officer admitted his action but said he had planned to call Ms Gather but had forgotten.

At the end of the report, the misconduct committee said Mr Vickers knew his actions were not in line with police policy and were done “for his own benefit”.

Following the misconduct hearing, Ms Gather said: “I personally did not instigate or pursue a complaint against the officer.

“The Professional Standards Department asked for my version of events after the news broke in the press and realized the police officer had either put a crime on my record without evidence or not spoken to me.

“Leicestershire Police have already apologized and the charge has been removed from my record.

“I had no idea that records had been falsified or that the officer’s actions constituted gross misconduct.”