Eight former West Yorkshire police officers guilty of gross misconduct over offensive messages
The group shared misogynistic, racist and transphobic comments with each other on WhatsApp
Last updated 20th Dec 2024
Five West Yorkshire Police officers have been sacked and three told they would have been if they hadn't already quit - after an investigation into offensive messages shared on a WhatApp group.
The eight former officers, who all worked at Pudsey police station, were found to have shared messages of a racist, misogynistic, transphobic and derogatory nature.
A misconduct hearing heard the group also had 'inappropriate' discussions about people involved in road crashes.
In one case, a photo was shared of the scene of a death after a person's body had been removed.
The officers are:
PC Luke Riddett – 26 findings of gross misconduct and 12 findings of misconduct.
Ex-PC Tom Harrison – 10 findings of gross misconduct and four findings of misconduct.
PC X (who is subject of an anonymity order) - eight findings of gross misconduct and three findings of misconduct.
PS Mark Otter – seven findings of gross misconduct and one finding of misconduct.
PC Javaid Habeeb – five findings of gross misconduct and 10 findings of misconduct.
Ex-PC Matthew Harrison – five findings of gross misconduct and five findings of misconduct.
PC Dominique Hawkins – four findings of gross misconduct and two findings of misconduct.
Ex-PC Lee Hillyard – two findings of gross misconduct and one finding of misconduct.
All will now be added to the College of Policing’s Barred List, preventing their employment by any other police force.
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."