PSNI officer dismissed over racist, homophobic messages

A PSNI officer has been dismissed for sending "sectarian, racist, homophobic, antisemitic" and "misogynistic" messages to members of the public and police colleagues.

The officer was investigated by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland for the "highly inappropriate and offensive" communications.

Eight other officers who received the messages and failed to report or challenge them were referred to PSNI in relation to potential breaches of the PSNI Code of Ethics.

The complainant in the case contacted the Police Ombudsman when the police officer continued to send the material, despite having been asked to stop on two occasions.

The messages, which were sent via WhatsApp over a number of months, including when the officer was on duty, contained material which was sectarian, racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, misogynistic and sexualised.

Nikki Davis, director of investigations with the Police Ombudsman’s Office, said digital analysis of the officer’s phone showed that he had sent multiple images and videos, all of which were "highly inappropriate and offensive, to the complainant, other members of the public and other police officers".

"This was not a one-off, isolated incident, which could potentially be attributed to a lapse in judgment," she said.

"It was sustained, consistent behaviour, exacerbated by the police officer’s view, when interviewed by our investigators, that he did not consider the material to be offensive or his actions to be in breach of the PSNI Code of Ethics."

She added: "When this kind of messaging specifically targets women and combines sexual, racist and sectarian references, it moves into the realm of online gender-based hate speech.

"For a police officer to display these attitudes and behaviours towards women, is unacceptable, and specifically undermines the PSNI’s commitment to ending violence against women and girls.

"However, this case demonstrates that allegations of misconduct will be robustly investigated and that officers will be held to account, all of which contributes positively to public confidence in policing."

Following the conclusion of the Police Ombudsman investigation, a file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in relation to the potential offences of Misconduct in Public Office and sending grossly offensive messages.

The PPS directed no prosecution, after which a misconduct file was then submitted to the PSNI Professional Standards Department.

The Chief Constable held a special hearing, after which the police officer was dismissed.

He was found to have breached a number of articles of the PSNI Code of Ethics, including those relating to professional duty where "whether on or off duty, police officers shall not behave in a way that is likely to bring discredit upon the Police Service".

His behaviour was also found to have violated officers’ commitment to integrity, requiring them to "avoid all forms of behaviour that may reasonably be perceived to be abuse, harassment, bullying or victimisation".