A panel heard how the officers sent a series of sick messages in the WhatsApp chat after a photo of a death scene was shared – all cops are now getting the sack
A group of police officers are about to lose their jobs after they shared sick pictures of death scenes in a WhatsApp chat which also featured racist and sexist remarks.
In total, eight current and former officers appeared before a gross misconduct hearing relating to a series of derogatory posts in the messaging service app group they were part of. According to a West Yorkshire police release, a hearing panel found all five serving officers should be dismissed, and the three cops who resigned while under investigation would have also lost their jobs if still serving.
The hearing heard about the grim list of abuse found in the series of messages including the sharing of a photograph taken at the scene of a death after the body was removed, which sparked inappropriate comments from others in the group.
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The police release mentions there were inappropriate discussions about people involved in fatal road traffic collisions, misogynistic and transphobic comments made about colleagues, and family members and a sick discussion about suicide both in relation to a colleagues.
The far-from exhaustive list also referred to the sharing of images of missing people and arrested individuals which were deemed “racist”.
Detective Chief Superintendent 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.
“We make clear to all employees of West Yorkshire Police the standards we expect of them both on and off duty and have a specific policy in place around the use of social media, which includes WhatsApp. The messages that were looked at as part of this investigation were mean-spirited and not representative of the inclusive culture we seek to foster in West Yorkshire Police.”
The officers named in the report are PC Luke Riddett, ex-PC Tom Harrison, PS Mark Otter, PC Javaid Habeeb, ex-PC Matthew Harrison, PC Dominique Hawkins, ex-PC Lee Hillyard and a final officer PC X who is subject of an anonymity order.
All officers will be barred from getting a job in policing going forward.
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