Former Avon and Somerset PC barred over racist comments at misconduct hearing
The former officer denied the racism allegations, after speaking about the death of George Floyd
A misconduct hearing has concluded in the case of a former police officer, after it was alleged that he made a series of offensive and racist comments during his time working for the Avon and Somerset force.
Former PC Daniel Wheller's case was heard this week by a misconduct hearing, which found him to have breached five policing standards by an independent Legally Qualified Chairperson (LQC).
The LQC ruled Mr Wheller’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and the former officer would have been dismissed, had he not resigned from Avon and Somerset Police in December 2022.
Wheller was accused of making racist comments about two members of the public - which included remarks about the appearance of Black individuals he met and stereotyping interactions with Black members of the public.
It was alleged he told those members of the public they would try to use their ethnicity to their advantage.
It was also alleged that whilst off-duty, Mr Wheller displayed a racist attitude in conversation with a member of the public, which caused upset, specifically around slavery and the death of George Floyd.
Avon and Somerset Police were alerted thanks to an anonymous letter from a member of the public.
This triggered a misconduct investigation over the now-former officer, who was based in Bridgwater at the time of the allegations.
At the misconduct hearing, former PC Wheller was also found to have submitted coursework as part of his police officer degree programme that was either not completed by him or received significant assistance from another individual.
The Legally Qualified Chair ruled former PC Wheller breached the standards of:
- Honesty and Integrity
- Orders and Instructions
- Authority, Respect and Courtesy
- Equality and Diversity
- Discreditable Conduct
Head of Professional Standards Department, Superintendent Mark Edgington, said: “The racist attitude and language the former officer used – both in relation to his police duties and while off-duty – is wholly unacceptable.
“There has been a lot of commentary in recent months about institutional racism in policing, and cases like this highlight why we should never shy away from tackling this issue head on. It is not acceptable to ignore, disregard, or consider such comments to be light-hearted or flippant; there’s simply no place in policing for people who harbour abhorrent racist views.
“This former PC’s conduct fell well below the standards we expect of all our officers and staff and he has let down not only the public but his colleagues with his comments, who will rightly be shocked and appalled.
“He resigned prior to this week’s hearing and will now be placed on a national barred list, preventing him from seeking other employment within the police service and other law enforcement agencies.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to the person who trusted us to do the right thing and raised this with us anonymously and hope the public take confidence with the way this former officer has been robustly dealt with.”
Read more: Misconduct panel hears racism allegations against police officer