AN OFFICER from West Midlands Police has been sacked for making racist and inappropriate comments about his colleagues.
The officer, whose identity has been withheld due to the nature of his work, appeared before an independent misconduct panel on Thursday (July 9).
The officer had previously been given a final written warning when he appeared before an independent panel last September – but the force successfully challenged that decision, resulting in the latest hearing.
The panel unanimously agreed that the officer should be dismissed without notice.
Head of professional standards Det Ch Supt Chris Todd said: “It was clear in this case that this officer felt it acceptable to talk about other colleagues in a racist way.
“It was always our case that any officer or member of staff in West Midlands Police behaving in that way should be dismissed.
“There is no place for racism in policing and if we don’t eliminate it internally we cannot expect the public, particularly those from black, Asian and ethnic minority communities, to put their trust in us.
“It was the right thing to do therefore to challenge the original decision at the High Court.
“I hope this outcome will give confidence to our colleagues across policing to report such behaviour knowing that they will be supported – and that it will give confidence to our communities that they can trust West Midlands Police to root out racism.”
The force has seen a record year for applications to join the force, with around half of applications coming from women and over 28 per cent from black and ethnic minority communities.
Visit www.jobs.west-midlands.police.uk to apply.
