A RESPECTED police officer “narrowly” avoided being sacked for a “momentary act of stupidity” which led to him assaulting his wife.

PC Dave Edwards and his wife Michelle had been drinking all day on May 27 when they had gone to the Croft Rock music festival in Barrow.

When the couple left the Crofters they began arguing and after they arrived back at their home the row escalated and PC Edwards ended up shoving his wife causing her to injure her back, a disciplinary panel was told.

Mrs Edwards called 999 telling the call handler “he got hold of me and he’s literally thrown me from the doorway right down the kitchen and I’ve landed on my back”.

PC Edwards was found by officers on the Promenade on Walney and as they turned up he said: “Come on get it over with I know what you have to do.”

The disciplinary panel report published by Cumbria Police describes how Mrs Edwards told police her husband “was abusing his position” and “she was frightened of further violence”.

When he was interviewed at Carlisle Police Station PC Edwards “became emotional... He said he was ashamed and embarrassed” and what happened was a “momentary stupid act” and he was disgusted with himself.

Mrs Edwards later asked police to drop the charges against her husband and said she had been “too hasty”.

During a disciplinary hearing, a solicitor representing PC Edwards said he “takes pride in being a police officer” and submitted that “the assault, though deliberate, was not planned or premeditated and was a single, brief episode”.

The report from the panel revealed PC Edwards, a keen runner and regular top five finisher in the Keswick to Barrow, had also been arrested in 2015 on suspicion of assaulting his wife but no further action was taken.

The panel was tasked with determining if the misconduct warranted dismissal from the force and they considered whether his actions would cause the public to lose confidence in his ability to do his job.

They said in the report: “The panel is sure that a member of the public’s view of Constable Edwards and the police in general would be diminished if they were made aware of the facts of the case.”

The panel stated “It is entirely unacceptable for police officers, who are responsible for enforcing the law, to break it.”

However, the panel said given PC Edwards’ service record, remorse and personal mitigation, they had been able to avoid dismissing him “by a very narrow margin” and instead issued him with a final written warning.

“It is clear that he is a dedicated police officer who devotes time and energy to raising funds for charitable causes,” the report concluded.

The panel added however that “he is yet to take full responsibility for his actions”.

The disciplinary report revealed PC Edwards had since returned to the family home and the couple were taking part in marriage counselling.

A Cumbria Police Spokesman said: “Cumbria Constabulary holds officers and staff to a high standard of conduct.

“In this instance, the officer had accepted a police caution for common assault. The incident was then subsequently the subject of a disciplinary investigation.

“The actions of the officer were taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly, resulting in the officer appearing before a public misconduct hearing and receiving a final written warning.

“We can assure the public the due process was followed and complied with and was led by an independent, legally qualified chair. The full determination has been published and is available online.”