The mood among police at Gloucestershire Constabulary is at ‘rock bottom’ amid fears among senior officers that Chief Constable Rod Hansen’s suspension is a “stitch-up”.

There are serious concerns among officers over how the situation has been dealt with by Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Chris Nelson as the force now feels “leaderless”.

The Conservative PCC suspended the chief constable last week pending an investigation into alleged gross misconduct.

The suspension will be subject to an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and centres on how the chief constable handled an allegation which was made against a member of staff and whether relevant policies and procedures were followed.

The identity of the member of staff has not been confirmed by the Constabulary, Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) or IOPC.

The IOPC said Mr Hansen was issued with a gross misconduct notice to advise him his conduct is subject to an investigation.

Such a notice does not necessarily mean any disciplinary proceedings will follow.

The suspension of the chief constable, who is held in high regard by many, has devastated morale at the police HQ, according to insiders.

The feeling among police is that the suspension “is a stitch up” and there are concerns the move may be politically motivated, something which has been refuted by the OPCC.

“The mood at the organisation is shockingly low,” a police source said.

“I felt it morally wrong not to say something about it.

“It sickens me. The ripples it has caused across the organisation are shocking.

“We feel we have got nobody at the top. Something is not right. It does not feel ethically right.

“We’ve got a chief constable who has got an exemplary record of over 30 odd years of service. There is great respect for him

“It sickens me to the stomach that these things are played out. The mood of this organisation for the last four days has been rock bottom.

“There’s more at play under the radar. It’s almost as if they were looking for something.

“When you compare other investigations around misconduct they always seem to be really serious but this in relation to process and procedure.

“When you think about taxpayers’ money at a chief constable level you are talking about a lot of money.

“They are now going to get somebody else in. The mood and the feeling is they just wanted him out of the way because he wasn’t just a yes person.”

There is also concern among the force that the decision is politically driven as the force needs to make savings of £7m.

An OPCC spokesperson refuted that there was any political motive behind the decision. They said: “It is a mandatory referral. There is no political gain here.”

Mr Nelson said his team is working to find a temporary chief constable while the investigation is undertaken.

The force has been without a deputy since January this year. Former deputy chief constable Shaun West retired in June 2024, and also remains subject to an IOPC investigation.

He is under criminal investigation in relation to a number of serious allegations including assault and misconduct in public office and was suspended by chief constable Hansen in January 2024 after the IOPC launched an investigation.

“I know that this will come as a shock to many in the county, especially to our hard working officers and staff, and to our partner organisations, but it is right that any allegations are dealt with consistently and investigated properly, thoroughly and swiftly,” Mr Nelson said.

IOPC says it is unable to comment further on their investigations.