Former Avon and Somerset Police officer barred over racist comments

A former PC has been barred from policing after making racist comments.

Daniel Wheller, who was based in Bridgwater, worked for Avon and Somerset Police until December 2022.

A misconduct hearing found that he breached five policing standards while working for the force.

Supt Mark Edgington, head of the professional standards department, said: "There's simply no place in policing for people who harbour abhorrent racist views."

Mr Wheller was accused of making racist comments about two members of the public during his time as a police officer.

This included making disparaging remarks about the appearance of black individuals, as well as stereotyping by saying they would use their ethnicity to their advantage.

An anonymous letter, which led to the misconduct investigation, said he allegedly displayed a racist attitude while talking to a member of the public, specifically around slavery and the death of George Floyd.

He was also found to have submitted coursework that was either not completed by him, or received significant assistance from someone else, as part of his police-officer degree programme.

The Legally Qualified Chair, who is independent of policing, ruled that Mr Wheller's actions amounted to gross misconduct and that he would have been dismissed from the force, had he not resigned first.

Supt Edgington said: "The racist attitude and language that the former officer used - both in relation to his police duties and while off-duty - is wholly unacceptable.

"There has been a lot of commentary in recent months about institutional racism in policing and cases like this highlight why we should never shy away from tackling this issue head on.

"This former PC's conduct fell well below the standards we expect of all our officers and staff. He has let down not only the public but his colleagues."

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