A Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty of misconduct after allegedly kissing and pinching a female colleague’s cheek – and opening the door of a toilet cubicle he knew she was using.

Sergeant George Panayi avoided the sack following his ‘entirely unprofessional’ behaviour.

But a misconduct panel has ruled that he will instead be demoted, as it branded his conduct ‘offensive’. The reasoning behind the decision is expected at a later date.

On Monday, the unnamed officer said she had ‘absolutely not’ consented to being kissed and outlined the incidents to the panel.

Panayi, 48 and part of the East Area Command Unit, was accused of the three incidents while on duty and told the hearing that he had been ‘stupid and naïve’ and regretted his actions.

The female officer explained that she was sitting in the driver’s seat of a police van on December 21, 2019 when Panayi approached and asked to see the log book.

She said he showed her photographs of women on his phone and told her: ‘I’m dating them because you are not available.’

After that, she said he grabbed her face ‘in a headlock’ with both hands and kissed her on the cheek.

The officer claimed Panayi grabbed her in such a way that she ‘couldn’t move’.

Julian Walters, counsel for the Met, asked her: ‘Had you consented to this?’

She replied: ‘Absolutely not.’

The woman said the incident was ‘offensive, demeaning, horrifying’ and added: ‘I was shocked. I did not know how to react.’

She said she felt ‘like a fish out of water’ and was not sure what to do, adding: ‘It was unwanted. It was offensive.’

Mr Walters said that if the incident unfolded as the female officer had described, it was a ‘slam-dunk case for harassment’.

The woman also told the hearing that on February 3, 2020 Panayi also pinched her cheek when she was in the middle of restraining a mental health patient trying to self-harm.

She said it was ‘completely unprofessional’, adding: ‘He didn’t do it to my other colleague.’

The woman also told the hearing that on February 9, 2020, Panayi opened the female lavatory door after she had gone in and before she had the chance to lock it.

‘He just laughed at me and walked off,’ she claimed.

The officer said she reported the incidents as they had not been one-offs.

She said: ‘This was becoming a pattern. My fear was that other things were going to happen.’

The officer said there had been ‘stigma’ after she made the allegations, adding that some officers were supportive while others were not.

Chairwoman of the police misconduct panel Eileen Herlihy said: ‘We find that all three allegations are proven as misconduct.’

She branded the kiss on the cheek as ‘entirely unprofessional’ behaviour.

Ms Herlihy also described his actions as ‘offensive’ and pointed out that he was ‘superior in rank’ to his female colleague.

Panayi told the hearing this week that it was not uncommon for him to kiss colleagues on the cheek when congratulating them on a promotion, greeting them again after a long absence or when having ‘a bit of fun’ with them.

He said: ‘There’s a cultural side to it, me being from a Mediterranean Greek origin.

‘I am quite a touchy person when it comes to showing some kind of feeling or emotion.’

But, he admitted ‘on reflection, I was stupid’.

‘I regret my actions and I admit that I’ve been a little bit naive in my behaviour,’ he said.

‘I am aware of how the culture has moved since 2019 and I have changed considerably.’

It was alleged that Panayi breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of authority, respect and courtesy.

The panel did not believe there was any sexual motivation behind Panayi’s behaviour.

The incident comes on the back of a series of damaging revelations about officers at the Metropolitan Police which led to the resignation of Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick on Thursday.

Last week, a report found officers were sending each other racist, sexist, ableist and homophobic messages at Charing Cross Station, where there was a ‘culture of bullying and harassment’.

The Metropolitan Police have been contacted by Metro.co.uk for comment.

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