West Yorkshire’s top detective sacked for misconduct

Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Knopwood, 48, was banned from driving for 12 months and fined £1,000 at a hearing last month.

He failed a roadside breath test when he was stopped by officers in Knaresborough on the day teacher Ann Maguire was murdered in Leeds. He was taken to a police station but refused to give the crucial evidential breath test.

West Yorkshire Police now say Knopwood, who has been a police officer for 24 years, has been dismissed without notice for gross misconduct “following a recent conviction for drink-driving”.

Detective Superintendent Osman Khan of the force’s Professional Standards Department said: “West Yorkshire Police expects the highest standards of professionalism from all officers and staff and will take appropriate disciplinary action against anyone who fails to meet those standards.”

The detective, who has been suspended since the hearing at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court last month, had been head of protective services (crime) at West Yorkshire Police, the division that is responsible for all of the force’s major criminal investigations.

Harrogate Magistrates’ Court heard Knopwood failed a roadside breath test when he was stopped by North Yorkshire Police officers on the evening of April 28.

He refused to take a breath test and told officers he wanted to be taken to hospital because he was not feeling well after banging his head in the police van.

Earlier on the day he was stopped, teacher Ann Maguire was fatally stabbed at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds, sparking a high-profile inquiry by the force.