Six Police Officers In Hampshire “Caught On Tape” Using Slurs
Six police officers in Hampshire have been caught on tape using racist, transphobic and homophobic slurs, allegedly mocking gay men as “q***rs” and derided “horrible tr**ny fag**ts”.
A police misconduct hearing on Monday (October 19) also heard that they joked about migrants drowning, referred to a Black colleague as a “mixed breed” with “forged Nigerian documents”, and referred to women as “sl*ts” and “wh***s”.
The group of six men, including two senior officers within the unit, are accused of breaching professional standards by making comments of a discriminatory nature. The comments were only uncovered when a listening device was placed inside the Basingstoke office after complaints by other members of staff.
According to ‘Yahoo! News’, racist, sexist and homophobic messages were also uncovered by a search of work-issued mobile phones and email accounts, as well as a secret WhatsApp group operated by the officers, the hearing was told.
Jason Beer QC, representing Hampshire Constabulary, told the hearing: “The SOCU office is in relative isolation to the rest of the force due to the covert nature of their activities.
“A lack of leadership and supervision appears to have led to a toxic and abhorrent culture developing. A toxic and abhorrent culture is in breach of values and standards of the police service.
“There was the consistent use of profanities and officers could turn up drunk after staying out to watch the boxing before arriving for a morning shift.”
He added: “It was a plain nasty unit. The officers joked about migrants having a long swim and drowning in the sea. It was a unit that was disrespectful.”
The six officers — detective sergeant Oliver Lage, detective sergeant Gregory Willcox, PC James Oldfield, trainee detective constable Andrew Ferguson, now-retired detective inspector Tim Ireson and former PC Craig Bannerman — all deny charges of gross misconduct.
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “It is alleged that the breaches of the standards of professional behaviour outlined are so serious that, if proven, dismissal would be justified and, as such, it is alleged that the behaviour amounts to gross misconduct.”
The hearing is set to continue for three weeks.
Read related myGwork articles here:
Lesbian Claims Police Didn’t Believe Her Rape Telling Her She Just Found It “Weird Being With A Man”
Black Trans Man Shot Dead By Policeman In Florida
Calls Are Growing For Police To Be Banned From Pride Marches
El Salvador Police Officers Sentenced To 20 Years For Killing Trans Woman
