Misconduct panel rules former detective would have been sacked over 'racist' text
A tribunal's ruled on a former Avon and Somerset Police officer who texted a fellow detective with discriminatory remarks about two colleagues
Last updated 6th Apr 2024
A retired Bristol detective who was a family liaison officer in the tragic case of Bijan Ebrahimi would have been sacked for gross misconduct for sending a “racist” text about two Black colleagues, a misconduct panel ruled.
Former Detective Constable Simon Jones sent a WhatsApp message to Det Con Robert Corry about the pair who were late to a briefing, saying: “If that was you and me, we would get the sack.”
A misconduct panel concluded the text suggested an “element of prejudice towards the two officers based in part at least on their ethnicity”.
Legally Qualified Chair Callum Cowx said: “The panel found that this could only be interpreted as a racist remark but could not go so far as to find that this was an inherently racist officer, based on the paucity of the evidence.”
Following a two-day hearing at Avon & Somerset Constabulary headquarters in Portishead, the panel decided on Friday, April 5, that Jones would have been dismissed without notice, and he will now be placed on a barring list preventing him from working for the police or other law enforcement agencies.
One of the former officer’s roles during nearly 26 years with the force was as a liaison officer with the family of Mr Ebrahimi, an Iranian refugee with special needs who was beaten to death and set alight in the street by his neighbour in 2013.
Mr Ebrahimi suffered antisocial behaviour from nearby residents in Brislington who wrongly branded him a paedophile, but when he called police repeatedly to report it – 85 times over seven years – they failed to believe him and arrested him instead of one of the men threatening him.
Shortly afterwards, Lee James beat him to death, dragged his body along the street and set it alight, in a case which shocked Bristol and the whole country.
A damning investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission concluded the city’s police systematically discriminated against him and showed “all the hallmarks of racial bias”.
Jones’s role in the murder case in support of Mr Ebrahimi’s family was highlighted in mitigation by his Police Federation rep Sgt Tony Henley after the misconduct panel examining “racist” texts found gross misconduct proven against the ex-detective.
Sgt Henley said: “Mr Ebrahimi suffered a terrible death and Simon had to overcome many issues as the family believed the police could have done things better at various stages – that subsequently proved to be the case.
“Simon managed their expectations and built a strong rapport with the family by being open and honest and supporting them throughout.”
He said Jones had an unblemished police career and that he had not intended to cause any harm with the messages, which were made in private on a personal device while off duty in April 2020.
Sgt Henley said: “These texts could well be described as a single lapse of judgement.
“Mr Jones wholeheartedly states that he is not a racist and wholeheartedly disagrees with the finding that he made any racist comments and that the finding is not at all congruent with the evidence presented.”
But the panel agreed with barrister Mark Ley-Morgan, representing the force, that the only possible outcome was dismissal had Jones still been a serving officer.
Bristol ex-Det Con Corry, who resigned before the hearing, was found to have committed misconduct for failing to challenge Jones.
Assistant Chief Constable Will White said afterwards: “The impact on the two officers who were at the centre of the messages has been significant.
“This has had a profound and lasting impact on them.
“Racism has no place in our service.
“I hope that today’s outcome shows them that the wider organisation is committed to driving out racism and bad culture and will not tolerate behaviour of this kind.
“It’s a clear signal to everyone who works for Avon & Somerset Police that racist views, comments or behaviour go against everything we stand for, and expressing these views in any forum is wholly unacceptable, damaging and will not be tolerated.
“It also shows the importance of being an upstander, and challenging these unacceptable behaviours when they are seen or heard.”
Neither officer attended the hearing and both denied the allegations.