Police officer sacked for cocaine use

A police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct after a drugs test showed he had cocaine in his system.

Special Constable Samuel Toynbee told a Lincolnshire Police disciplinary panel he "never has and never will take cocaine" and said the results must have been from "coming into contact with drug users and dealers on a daily basis".

Independent toxicologist Kirsty Watson told the hearing she believed "ingestion was more likely than exposure" due to the levels.

The panel ruled Toynbee's actions amounted to discreditable conduct and he was dismissed from the special constabulary without notice.

Toynbee had a drugs test when he applied to become a regular constable in July 2025, following two years as a volunteer during which he served more than 2,000 hours.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the panel heard a hair sample tested for cocaine showed 0.48 nanograms per milligram of blood, just below the cut-off of 0.5 nanograms.

However, benzoylecgonine, which appears when cocaine has broken down, tested at a higher rate of 0.052 nanograms per mg, above the cut-off 0.05 nanograms.

Toynbee, who has been suspended since the test, told the hearing at Grantham police station: "I dedicated vast amounts of time and effort to my dream job. Why would I jeopardise that by taking drugs?

"I was absolutely devastated by the test results. I have 100% never taken any illicit drugs."

The panel chair, Charley Rimmer, said evidence pointed towards the special constable having taken cocaine, breaching police standards.

"You have behaved in a manner which discredits the police service and undermines public confidence," she said.

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