Sergeant who made racist comment sacked

A police sergeant who made a racist comment while working in a police custody suite has been dismissed.

Nottinghamshire Police said it held a gross misconduct hearing at its Sherwood Lodge headquarters on Wednesday in relation to an incident at a custody suite on 19 November last year.

A British Asian man was being transferred from the custody suite when the officer made comments that were "discriminatory, offensive, and inappropriate", including telling the man: "Come on, get back on the boat and go back to where you come from".

The officer, whose name the force is not releasing "on medical grounds", has also been placed on the barred list, meaning they cannot serve as a police officer again.

Police said the comments were captured on CCTV and reported by a concerned colleague, with the case referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The officer "told the hearing that he regretted his choice of words", the force said, adding he said the comments "were not motivated by racial hatred" and were in response to "rude and abusive" behaviour.

He was found to have breached standards of professional behaviour in relation to "equality and diversity, authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct", leading to his dismissal.

Regarding its decision not to name the officer, the force said: "After careful consideration and specialist medical advice, [his] name has been anonymised due to concerns for his welfare."

Chief Constable Steve Cooper, who led the hearing, said the officer's behaviour "has the potential to discredit the police service and undermine the public's confidence in policing".

"Police officers should be treating all members of the public with respect and courtesy at all times and this officer failed in his duties on this occasion," he said.

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