Tribunal hears race taunt claims

Wayne Bell and Clint Charles are both seeking up to �30,000 in damages

A white police officer mocked two black police community support officers (PCSOs) with ape impersonations, a tribunal has heard.

PCSOs Wayne Bell and Clint Charles said Pc John Harrison also used a stereotypical West Indian accent and street slang to taunt them.

They are seeking damages of up to �30,000 each from the Metropolitan Police for race discrimination.

The Met has denied the claims at the employment tribunal in Watford.

The men also claim the force did not investigate their complaints properly.

Pc Harrison also denied all the allegations.

Mr Bell, 40, from Westminster, central London, joined the Met as a PCSO in November 2002.

Jamaican origin

He told the tribunal that problems began after Mr Harrison joined the Transport Operational Command Unit in early 2007.

It was clear to me that Pc Harrison was mocking me because I am Afro-Caribbean and black Wayne Bell, PCSO

Pc Harrison allegedly gave Mr Bell "hostile" looks and on one occasion commented on how well Mr Bell spoke English, the tribunal heard.

Mr Charles said Pc Harrison had made ape-like faces at him.

Mr Bell complained in February 2008 and Pc Harrison was transferred to another station two weeks later.

Mr Bell said: "It was clear to me that Pc Harrison was mocking me because I am Afro-Caribbean and black. Pc Harrison intended to be racist."

He added: "I believe that Pc Harrison was dealt with unduly leniently."

Mr Charles, who has now been accepted for the Met, said he was shocked by the experience.

"I never expected to experience this in the Metropolitan Police," he said.

Mr Charles told the tribunal: "I feel angry. I feel it has all been swept under the carpet. I feel that the Metropolitan considers me to be nobody."

But Pc Harrison said he was not racist and denied he had been protected by the Met.

The tribunal continues.

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