PC Jamie Faulkner, aged 26, who was based at Riverside Police Station, faced a gross misconduct hearing at force headquarters at Sherwood Lodge.
The hearing heard that PC Faulkner had joined the police service in May 2022 and had become friends with a female colleague.
The female colleague had shown kindness towards the officer when he was struggling to adapt to policing and helped him with work he was struggling to complete.
The hearing heard that between January 2023 and June 2023, PC Faulkner had displayed behaviour that made her feel uncomfortable.
This included asking for hugs, touching her hair, and waiting by her car after his shift had finished.
On one occasion, it was alleged that he interfered with the zip on her trousers.
PC Faulkner told the hearing that he is gay and had no attraction to females.
He said he felt ‘isolated’ in the team and saw the female officer as a friend he could confide in.
He apologised if any of his behaviour had caused her to feel uncomfortable and would have stopped if asked to do so.
The three-day gross misconduct hearing concluded on May 21.
The hearing was chaired by temporary Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin and two independent panel members.
PC Faulkner was found not guilty of gross misconduct but guilty of misconduct.
The panel concluded his actions were ‘disrespectful’ by entering the officer’s personal space without any consideration of how it would make her feel.
Mr Griffin said: “The panel accepted the female officer’s evidence that the repeated touching and/or plaiting of her hair occurred as did the touching of her trouser zip in the parade room on or around June 21, 2023.
“The panel considered that PC Faulkner had been emphatic about his sexuality and the panel accepted his evidence on this point.
“The panel accepted that PC Faulkner had not been sexually attracted to the female officer at any time nor had he wanted or attempted to have an intimate relationship with her.
“The panel accepted that PC Faulkner had felt lonely and isolated when he joined the team, and he had regarded the female officer as someone that he could talk to and confide in.
"He had considered her to be a friend.
“The panel found that the allegations proven demonstrated a lack of respect by PC Faulkner towards the female officer.
“During the zip incident and by touching her hair, he had stepped into her personal space without any consideration for how she may have felt about that.
“It is vitally important that police officers and police staff respect the personal boundaries of people they work with.
"We understand how difficult it would have been for the female officer to give evidence at this hearing and hope this outcome will offer some reassurance that we take these reports extremely seriously as a police service.”
He was handed a written warning for his behaviour, which will remain in place for 18 months.