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A Metropolitan Police detective who appeared in a BBC documentary into a harrowing rape investigation abused seven of his own former partners with physical assaults and rape threats, a disciplinary panel has found.
Detective Constable David Fall was accused of abusing or harassing the women over a six-year period while he was a serving officer, but quit before he could be fired amid a police investigation.
The abuse took place while he worked in the Met’s Sapphire Unit, which investigates rapes and serious sexual offences.
While working there, Fall was found to have physically assaulted and threatened to rape two of his former partners, as well as harassing five more by sending messages, turning up at their addresses and making phone calls.
He showed one former partner a crime scene photograph of a dead man, took naked photos of one of the women without permission and contacted another in an attempt to prevent them reporting his behaviour.
Fall resigned from the Met Police in October but the misconduct hearing ruled he would have been dismissed if still serving.
He will now be added to the barred list of officers by the College of Policing.
It comes amid an ongoing crisis in confidence in police around issues including tackling violence against women, with 593 police officers kicked out of their force in the year to March 2024.
Detective Constable David Fall was accused of abusing or harassing the women over a six-year period while he was a serving officer
Fall, who appeared in 2017 in a BBC One documentary The Met: Policing London, was found to have physically assaulted and threatened to rape two of his former partners, as well as harassing five more by sending messages, turning up at their address and making phone calls
A Met misconduct hearing, which took place between February 3 and 7, found all allegations against Fall proven, except for two which were found not proven as he was not a serving police officer at the time.
The hearing heard how Fall violently assaulted one former partner known as Ms A, with whom he shares a child, by forcibly holding her head under a tap, throwing a phone that struck her in the head, pulling her hair and slamming her against a door.
He also ‘forcibly removed her hooded top’, poked her in the stomach while she was pregnant, jabbed her with a fork and told her he could ‘rape her if [he] wanted to’.
In relation to a second former partner, Ms B, Fall was found to have thrown a pint of beer over her and a sandwich in her face, as well as slapping her, pulling her hair and threatening to rape her in an incident in February 2020.
As she tried to leave, Fall left her with bruising to her arm and threw a pint of water over her.
The former rape detective also took naked photos of one former partner without permission, and photos of another engaged in a sex act without permission.
Fall was further found to have harassed all seven of his former partners, either by sending messages and making phone calls or turning up at their homes.
In addition to his campaign of domestic violence, Fall was found to have shown former partner Ms D a photograph of a crime scene without a proper policing purpose.
The hearing heard how Fall violently assaulted one former partner known as Ms A by forcibly holding her head under a tap, throwing a phone that struck her in the head, and pulled her hair and slammed her against a door
The image showed a photo of a deceased male, the hearing heard.
Finally, he was found to have contacted one of the women following their break-up in an attempt to ‘persuade her not to further support the criminal and/or misconduct investigation’ into him.
Speaking during the hearing, Fall accused the investigating force Hampshire Constabulary of being ‘politically motivated’ and of carrying out a ‘witch hunt’ into his behaviour.
The independent panel also heard messages sent by Fall to his victims, including some sent while he was outside their homes.
Fall was found to have committed gross misconduct and the panel said he would have been dismissed if still serving. He will be added to the barred list held by the College of Policing.
The officer’s mistreatment of his partners was investigated as part of a criminal investigation by Hampshire Constabulary in 2020 but no charges were brought due to insufficient evidence.
Misconduct cases are conducted with the civil test of evidence on the ‘balance of probabilities’, rather than the higher criminal test of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
Fall appeared appeared in the BBC documentary The Met: Policing London in 2017, for his role in investigating an attempted rape of a woman with Down’s Syndrome in her own home.
The attacker Harjit Singh, now 53, was jailed for six years.
Proven allegations against David Fall in full
Ms A
During your relationship with Ms A, spanning the period June 2014 to July 2017, you physically assaulted her in the following ways:
(iii) you poked her in the stomach whilst pregnant and / or ripped her hooded top and / or
(iv) forcefully removed her hooded top and / or said words to the effect that you could rape her if you wanted to (in or about May 2016), and / or
(v) you hit her on the head by throwing your mobile telephone at her (in or about 2016), and / or
(vi) you jabbed her in the back and / or shoulder with a fork (in or about June/July 2016); and / or
(vii) you pulled her hair and pushed her against a doorframe or similar whilst on a caravan holiday (in or about April 2017).
During your relationship with Ms A, spanning the period June 2014 to July 2017, and / or following its termination, you harassed and / or upset Ms A by messaging her and / or calling her phone repeatedly and / or you harassed and / or upset Ms A by turning up at her address uninvited.
Ms B
During your relationship with Ms B spanning the period October 2017 to March 2020, you physically assaulted her as follows:
(i) you poured a pint of beer over her and / or threw a sandwich at her (in or about December 2019); and / or
(iii) you pushed a sandwich into her face and / or slapped her and / or pulled her hair and / or threatened to rape her (in or about February 2020); and / or
(iv) you grabbed and / or held and / or bruised her arm when she tried to leave you (in or about February 2020); and / or
(v) you threw a pint of water over her.
During your relationship with Ms B spanning the period October 2017 to March 2020, and / or following its termination, you harassed and / or upset Ms B by messaging her and / or calling her phone repeatedly and / or you harassed and / or upset Ms B by turning up at her address uninvited.
Ms C
During your relationship with Ms C spanning the period March 2020 to August 2020, and / or following its termination, you harassed and / or upset Ms C by messaging her and / or calling her phone repeatedly and / or you harassed and / or upset Ms C by turning up at her address uninvited.
Ms D
During your relationship with Ms D spanning the period September / October 2020, and / or following its termination on or about 28th October 2020, you harassed and / or upset Ms D by messaging her and / or calling her phone repeatedly and / or you harassed and / or upset Ms D by turning up at her address uninvited.
During your relationship with Ms D, in or about October 2020, you showed Ms D a confidential document related to your work without any proper policing purpose. The document consisted of a photograph of a crime scene depicting the body of a deceased male.
Ms E
Having met Ms E on a dating ‘app’ and after meeting her in person on just one occasion (on or about 25th September 2020), you harassed and / or upset Ms E by messaging her and / or calling her phone repeatedly during September / October 2020, and / or you harassed and / or upset Ms E by messaging her repeatedly and / or inappropriately when you suspected she had gone out with another person (on or about 9th October 2020).
Ms F
During your relationship with Ms F spanning the period October to December 2020, you harassed and / or upset Ms F by taking a photograph of her whilst she was naked without her knowledge and / or consent and / or you harassed and / or upset Ms F by retaining that photograph on your phone without her knowledge and / or consent.
During your relationship with Ms F spanning the period October to December 2020, and / or following its termination, you harassed and / or upset Ms F by messaging her and / or calling her phone repeatedly and / or you harassed and / or upset Ms F by turning up at her address uninvited. Following the breakup of your relationship with Ms F, in or about March 2022, you inappropriately contacted Ms F to persuade her not to further support the criminal and / or misconduct investigation into your alleged conduct.
Ms G
During your relationship with Ms G spanning the period November / December 2020, you harassed and / or upset Ms G by taking a photograph of her whilst she was engaged in a sex act with you without her knowledge and / or consent.
During your relationship with Ms G, spanning the period November / December 2020, you harassed and / or upset Ms G by looking at her private messages on her phone without her consent.
During your relationship with Ms G, spanning the period November / December 2020, and / or following its termination (on or about 13th December 2020), you harassed and / or upset Ms G by messaging her and / or calling her phone repeatedly and / or you harassed and / or upset Ms G by turning up at her address uninvited.
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