A Metropolitan Police officer who stole a £2.25 sandwich from Pret A Manger would have been fired if he had not left the force, a misconduct panel has found.
Former Pc David Fyfe was caught on CCTV taking the tuna baguette from a Pret in north London’s Wood Green shopping mall while on duty on 9 April 2025.
Mr Fyfe spent “some moments looking at the sandwich fridge”, according to a written misconduct finding.
The officer then selected the baguette and “immediately walked out of the store without making any attempt to pay for it”.
A Pret employee saw him leaving the shop holding the baguette, then getting into the passenger seat of a police car and driving off.
The ruling said that she later reported the incident to another officer who had come into the store to buy a coffee.
Mr Fyfe was interviewed under caution on 1 May 2025.
He admitted taking a sandwich, but denied stealing it.
He said his failure to pay was an “oversight” because of lack of sleep and a recent argument, in what he described as a “brain fart”.
A store manager said the item taken was a “slim tuna baguette costing £2.25” and in an interview Mr Fyfe said it was a cheese and pickle baguette costing £5, according to the ruling.
Following a hearing held on 13 February, a panel found his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and would have justified his dismissal had he still been a member of the force.
The ruling said the panel noted that a “uniformed officer shoplifting in plain sight was reprehensible behaviour”.