Policewoman guilty of gross misconduct for making up a story about transphobia

A policewoman who made up a story about transphobia in the workplace during a job interview for a promotion has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

Disgraced Sergeant Sarah Srivastava was given a final written warning after she lied that colleagues had discriminated against a transgender officer and that she had stepped in to challenge their behaviour. 

During the misconduct hearing, the counsel for the West Midlands Police condemned Srivastava for bringing ‘discredit to the police service’ and for undermining ‘public confidence’ in the force.

Disgraced Sergeant Sarah Srivastava was given a final written warning after she lied that colleagues had discriminated against a transgender officer and that she had stepped in to challenge their behaviour. A stock image is used above [File photo]

Srivastava was hoping to be promoted into the serious organised crime unit after 27 years of unblemished service. But when asked for an example of ‘how you considered a range of values and needs when making a decision that affects a group of people’, Srivastava panicked and claimed she had challenged a colleague who had made a transphobic remark to an officer and then got them to apologise.

Srivastava’s lie was exposed when her interviewer, a detective inspector, turned up at her workplace and insisted on speaking to the transgender officer directly.

A panicked Srivastava tried to stop the detective from escalating the case and warned that she had ‘slightly embellished’ the tale during the interview.

But after further questioning, she finally admitted that she had invented the entire story.

The disciplinary panel found that Srivastava had ‘breached three standards of professional behaviour and was guilty of gross misconduct’.

Last night, Srivastava told the MoS: ‘I regret lying, it was silly. I just got caught up in the moment.’