Officers sacked over offensive WhatsApp messages

Five serving police officers have been sacked and three former colleagues told they would have been dismissed over a WhatsApp group featuring "routine misogyny" and "casual racism".

The West Yorkshire-based officers were fired after being found guilty of gross misconduct over "derogatory, offensive and discriminatory" messages posted in the group.

A misconduct hearing heard they also shared photographs of "death scenes", car crashes, missing people and detainees.

The disciplinary panel dismissed serving officers Sgt Mark Otter, PC Dominique Hawkins, PC Javaid Habeeb, PC Luke Riddett, and an officer referred to only as PC X.

They ruled that three other former constables – Tom Harrison, Matthew Harrison and Lee Hillyard – would also have been dismissed had they not already resigned.

All eight had denied gross misconduct between July 2020 and September 2021.

The hearing was told the group, used by some officers based in Pudsey, was characterised by "mean-spirited and bullying remarks about colleagues and members of the public".

Setting out the case against the officers at the start of the hearing in October, barrister, Olivia Checa-Dover gave the panel a series of examples from the WhatsApp chat.

She said that, when discussing a member of the public referred to as Miss A, PC X posted: "Miss A on a bridge … jump, jump, jump."

And she said PC Habeeb joked about a colleague taking his own life.

Ms Checa-Dover said that PC Riddett posted a photo of an Asian detainee with a beard captioned "if you had to draw a terrorist", to which PC Tom Harrison replied "racist".

Ms Checa-Dover, representing the policing authority, said derogatory messages were exchanged about photos posted of an officer, referred to as PC A, and his sister.

The barrister said to the panel: "Was this a safe place for colleagues to seek support from their peers and provide support, or was it a platform used to communicate mean-spirited, bullying remarks about colleagues deemed not part of the group?"

She said that, in a conversation complaining about a "vulnerability appointment" with a member of the public, PC Riddett said "probably asking for it anyway", which the barrister told the panel was "an inappropriate, victim-blaming comment".

Ms Checa-Dover added that in a conversation about "naked Uno" Sgt Otter made derogatory and offensive comments of a sexual nature about two people.

She said PC Riddett wrote in the chat: "It's not harassment if they say yes. Remember lads, 50 nos and one yes is still a yes."

Ms Checa-Dover said the officers did not deny their involvement in the WhatsApp group but argued that it "was an expression of dark humour, a vehicle through which they would process traumatic experiences, a forum in which to express themselves freely, seek support from their colleagues and provide support to others".

Det Ch Supt Tanya Wilkins, Head of West Yorkshire Police's Professional Standards Directorate, said: "This misconduct hearing looked not only at the actions of this group but also their inaction.

"The lack of challenge and complicity of a supervisor being involved in these conversations has allowed a culture of routine misogyny, casual racism and bullying to develop within this team."

Independent Office for Police Conduct regional director Emily Barry said: "The disgraceful behaviour and attitudes we found in these messages are totally unacceptable and have no place in policing.

Our investigation has ensured those responsible have received serious sanctions - and that the worst offenders will never again wear the uniform."

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