Anger as policemen urinate on palace

VILNIUS - Two senior British police officers assigned to consult the Lithuanian authorities on professional ethics left the country disgraced after one of them was caught urinating on the Presidential Palace in Vilnius on Feb. 6.

Lithuanian police arrested Chief Superintendent Kevin Pitt and Inspector Kerry Anderson just after midnight on the public square near the presidential residence in Vilnius' Old Town after the two were filmed on closed-circuit security cameras, according to Vilnius police.

Vilnius police said both men were drunk, and that one vomited on the way to a nearby police station. Pitt, a 30-year police veteran who was caught in the act, was ordered to pay a 200 litas ($50) fine. Anderson was released.

Both men said they were unaware the wall they had chosen was part of the presidential residence.

The incident caused indignation in Lithuania. A presidential spokesperson called it "disgraceful."

Upon returning to England Pitt offered his resignation.

"Throughout more than 30 years of police service my yardsticks have been honesty and integrity," Britain's Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying. "As a result of this isolated incident I feel I have no choice but to offer my resignation with immediate effect and apologize to all for the embarrassment I have caused."

Anderson and Pitt were consultants on corruption and police ethics in an EU-funded program.