Love Island contestant Mike Boateng is allowed to rejoin the police force, following today’s misconduct hearing.
The 24-year-old’s hearing took place via video call today, after he was investigated by the Greater Manchester Police.
During the hearing, Mike admitted that he had lied to his supervisors back in 2018.
Mike took a trip New York and was due back at work on December 7th, 2018.
However, he sent a message to a colleague claiming that there was problems with his flight – and that he would not be able to work his shift on the 7th.
He returned to work on the 8th but continued to lie when asked for proof of the flight delay, blaming British Airways for the mix-up.
Mike’s representative claimed that he was suffering from jet-lag, and lied out of panic which was out of character for him.
View this post on Instagram
Mike also claimed that mitigating circumstances caused him to breach police standards.
According to the Press Association, the Love Island star believed he was being treated differently to other officers.
Judy Khan QC, who was representing Mike, said he was mistaken by superior officers for a footballer with the same name, who had been convicted of match fixing.
She said: “Mr Boateng was made to stand next to a computer by his superiors for comparison with that individual because it was thought he was that person.”
She also said that during a role-play exercise in training, Mike was called a “gorilla” by another trainee.
Mike felt scrutinised by his colleagues, and their behaviour allegedly forced him to take time off for depression.
At the end of Mike’s hearing today, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Andy Cooke ruled the 24-year-old had breached police standards of professional behaviour for honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct.
However, he acknowledged the fact that Mike was suffering from stress at the time, and therefore he has not been barred from serving as a police officer.
View this post on Instagram
It was previously reported that Mike would face allegations that he approached a 17-year-old woman while in uniform back in 2018.
However, the alleged incident wasn’t brought up during his misconduct hearing today.
The allegations came to light while he appeared on Love Island earlier this year, but his family fiercely denied the claims at the time.
In a statement released this afternoon, Mike confirmed many of the allegations against him were dropped before his hearing.
Mike thanked his family for their support over the past three years, and said: “To anyone facing any kind of injustice – please never give up. The truth will always come out.”
