A police chief under investigation over allegations he sexually harassed female colleagues took his own life, a coroner ruled today.
David Ainsworth, 49, deputy chief constable of Wiltshire Police, hanged himself in his garage fearing he would "lose everything" and believing his family would be better off without him if he took his own life.
The £110,000-a-year officer had been removed from his duties and later placed on secondment after a series of complaints were made against him.
Mr Ainsworth was determined to clear his name but felt he was being treated as a "pariah" by the Wiltshire force, the three-day inquest at Trowbridge Town Hall heard.
David Ridley, coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, recorded a verdict that the high ranking officer had taken his own life.
"On the evidence I consider that the appropriate conclusion to record here is that David Ainsworth took his own life while suffering from depression," he said.
The girlfriend of Mr Ainsworth, however, criticised the coroner today and said it was a "shame" he had limited the scope of his inquest.
Jo Howse said Mr Ridley should have considered the effect of the internal police inquiry on her partner.
"I think that David's state of mind really was as a result of the way he was investigated," Ms Howse, a charity worker, said.
"That made it very difficult for him to have any faith in the welfare arrangements that were made for him.
"So I think it is a shame that the whole thing could not be considered in the coroner's inquest because I don't think it accurately reflects what happened to David.
"This inquest did not allow issues that I believe to be pertinent to David's welfare and state of mind to come out.
"It seemed apparent that the coroner had a set view on how he would limit the scope of his inquiry.
"It seems clear to me and David's family that a care regime should apply to all officers in a police force and from my point of view it was evident that chief constable Brian Moore and the chief executive of the Wiltshire Police Authority held each other responsible for the lack of a coherent approach to David's welfare arrangements."
Ms Howse, who lives in Westbury, Wilts, said she made a formal complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission about Mr Ainsworth's death.
"The issues the coroner precluded are amongst a number of complaints made by me to the IPCC against members of Wiltshire Police Authority, Wiltshire Police and members of Wiltshire Police staff and it would be inappropriate for me to make any comments about that at this stage," she said.
Ms Howse said that she had not seen a copy of a report compiled by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary - mentioned in the inquest - despite several requests.
She said that the number of people who made complaints against Mr Ainsworth was "far below" those publicly reported.
"In fact, I count 12 complainants, seven of whom work in the same team at Wiltshire Police, with no complaints coming from Wiltshire Police," she said.
"It would be inappropriate for me to make any further comments regarding this until the IPCC investigation has concluded.
"I am unable to comment on the efficacy of any of the complaints as, although a form of concluding report to the investigation was produced by South Wales Police in July 2011, this has yet to be made available to me or David's family."
Ms Howse, who was supported by Mr Ainsworth's father Stanley and brother Paul, during the inquest, added: "David was a kind and caring man who always wanted to help people and I loved him very much.
"He was loved dearly by his family and friends.
"Judging from the sheer volume of heartfelt and heart-rending condolence messages that we received from across the police service after his death, I believe a great many of his colleagues felt the same way."
Mr Ainsworth's father criticised Wiltshire Police for not seeing the change in his son following the launch of the investigation.
"I don't feel he was treated well," Mr Ainsworth said.
"They put a lot of procedures in place but I don't think anyone seemed to notice his physical deterioration.
"When I saw him 10 days before he died, I was shocked by how he had changed in his attitude and his appearance.
"If nobody on the police side could see that they must have been looking in a different place.
"If someone is that ill, mentally and physically, and showing all the signs, somebody on the police side should have done more about it.
"That's why I feel the welfare didn't take place. When someone was as ill as David was they are not going to take action themselves.
"He'd lost his forward momentum and that should have been noted before he decided to take himself out of the equation."
Mr Ainsworth said his son did not know until five months after the investigation started the detail of the allegations he faced.
"He didn't know until the very last moments of what people were saying about him," Mr Ainsworth said.
"My David wasn't a man who would commit sexual harassment, he wouldn't do that.
"He couldn't have done what had done in Kent and left there with a very sound knowledge of policing and then come here and change his pattern."
Mr Ainsworth added: "He was a very proud man and he enjoyed police work."
Wiltshire Police said after the inquest that Mr Ainsworth faced a total of 26 allegations made by 13 members of the force's staff.
Chris Hoare, chairman of the Wiltshire Police Authority, read a statement on behalf of the Authority and Wiltshire Police.
He said: "Further to the coroner's verdict today, our sincere and heartfelt thoughts and sympathies are with David's family, partner Joanna and friends in these tragic circumstances.
"This has been an exceptionally difficult period for all concerned, not only for David's family, partner and friends, but also for many within our organisation.
"We note that the coroner recognised that we had put in place comprehensive welfare arrangements which focused on David's needs.
"A good employer has a duty of care to all its employees. They need to feel able to raise concerns - and know they will be dealt with.
"Thirteen members of staff raised a total of 26 individual allegations which were being investigated by an outside force at the time of David Ainsworth's tragic death.
"The staff and managers who came forward did so bravely, rightly and properly. They will continue to receive our full support."