A shamed police officer befriended his elderly neighbour and used her card to buy McDonald’s, Starbucks and a Manscaped razor.
Former Merseyside Police Constable Gary Carson began doing small jobs for his elderly neighbour, such as her shopping, as her health began to deteriorate.
The elderly woman was said to have been ‘smitten’ with Carson, who she held in high regard because of his job as a response officer, entrusting him with her bank card.
She initially said the card could also be used for ‘ice creams’ and ‘Christmas and birthday presents for the children’.
It was soon discovered that the former PC had made several payments which weren’t permitted by the woman, which included nearly £25,000 at Tesco, over £750 at both Starbucks and Amazon, £150 at McDonald’s, nearly £100 at Halfords, and over £90 at Tool Station.
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There were also payments to Domino’s Pizza, My Protein, O2 and Uber Eats – as well as to companies Manscaped and ManCave. The total expenditure on her card was over £30,000 between February 2020 and March 2023.
Carson also registered his email address with the neighbour’s bank accounts so he could transfer funds and carry out online transactions.
He also took control of her savings account and transferred nearly £11,000 to cover the expenditures which left her account.
Carson appeared before a Merseyside Police misconduct hearing last month, where it was found he had breached the standards of the force’s professional behaviour to the level of gross misconduct.
Carson was told that, as well as using the ‘elderly neighbour’s bank account…to benefit you and your family’, he also failed to seek appropriate assistance from council services despite her house being in ‘squalor’.
The officer was sacked from the force without notice and added to the College of Policing barred list. This means he will never be able to work in the police again.
What have people said?
Detective Chief Superintendent Sabi Kaur, head of the Merseyside Police’s professional standards department, said: ‘He exploited the trust of a vulnerable, elderly woman and – while he may have made purchases requested by the neighbour – went on to buy other items beyond what had been agreed.
‘His behaviour was completely unacceptable and risked seriously undermining public confidence in policing. It is absolutely right that he has been dismissed from the force and can no longer serve in policing.
‘I hope that the seriousness with which the force has handled the misconduct investigation into his actions demonstrates very clearly the standards we uphold at Merseyside Police.’
A criminal investigation was launched by a separate police force, but ultimately resulted in no charges. This was due to the reluctance of the neighbour to support the prosecution.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Police told the ECHO: ‘I can confirm an investigation was undertaken by Cheshire Police following allegations of fraud. A case file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that there should be no charges.”
Carson moved into his home in February 2012, and his relationship with his neighbour grew so that she became a “grandmother figure” to his family.
He said they held joint BBQs, Christmas, Easter and birthday events, and she would treat his children with chocolate and other gifts.
Following her health deteriorating, Carson began carrying out tasks for her, including gardening and shopping. He claimed he sat with his neighbour while she carried out online orders and said purchases of toys, a razor and ‘treats’ such as the likes of Starbucks and Greggs were gifted by her.
The hearing was told that Carson’s finances were in a dire position at the time. When applying to join Merseyside Police, he declared he had been served a ‘default notice’ for credit cards, catalogue agreements and mobile phone contracts which were in repayment plans.
The misconduct hearing was told by the neighbour’s daughter that she had visited her mum’s house around Christmas 2023 and observed the house was ‘in a state’ and found a binder containing unpaid bills and bank statements, which included payments for fuel and Starbucks.
Carson claimed the allegations made against him were ‘completely untrue and come from her estranged family members who have been absent from [her] life for a good period in excess of 10 years’.
A misconduct panel found that Carson had used the bank account to benefit himself and his family, with the panel adding: ‘Ordinary decent people would know that it was dishonest to use a bank account to make unauthorised purchases.’
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