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Four police officers committed gross misconduct by sharing offensive messages

Pa
Saturday, Jan 18, 2025

LONDON: Four police officers have been found to have committed gross misconduct for being part of a WhatsApp group which shared racist and misogynistic comments, and a photo of a sex toy at the home of a member of the public.

A disciplinary hearing was held by Dorset Police after an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The inappropriate messages were found in the group shared by members of a team of officers dedicated to tackling drug supply, county lines operations and protecting victims of cuckooing.

An IOPC spokesman said that thousands of messages were shared by the group between March 2020 and January 2021. He added: “Examples of the messages we uncovered included referring to one member of the public as a ‘pikeys’ and someone else as looking like ‘he’d have yellow teeth, bad breath and some sort of skin condition’.”

The disciplinary panel found that four officers had committed gross misconduct, and ruled that former officers, Police Constables Matthew Williamson and Daniel Moore, and Special Sergeant Timothy Borrill, would have been dismissed if they had not already left the force.

The fourth officer, Pc Mark Philpotts, who was still serving, will now be dismissed by Dorset Police. Serving officers Pc Kate Trent and Sergeant Kennie Wilson were found to have committed misconduct and were given final written warnings.

The IOPC spokesman said that Sgt Wilson had not sent any of the offensive messages, but had failed to report those who did. IOPC regional director David Ford said: “Some of the messages shared within the group were wholly inappropriate, unprofessional and discriminatory, and we found there was an absence of proper challenge or reporting among officers involved.

“The sharing among the group of a photograph of one of the officers holding a sex toy at a member of the public’s home represented a clear violation of trust and lacked professionalism.

“The attitudes revealed in some of these messages are completely unacceptable and have no place in policing. “Incidents such as these have the real potential to undo the great work undertaken by police officers on a daily basis, including those who seek to build trust and confidence with communities, especially communities who are harder to reach and those representing minority groups. “Our investigation has led to those most involved receiving serious sanctions.”