Two North Yorkshire police officers dismissed over "racist" WhatsApp messages
A panel heard "damning" evidence against Detective Constable Danielle Kirby and Police Constable James Mills
Two North Yorkshire Police officers have been dismissed after sending "racist" WhatsApp messages to one another.
A gross misconduct panel heard "damning" evidence against Detective Constable Danielle Kirby and Police Constable James Mills, who were both based in York.
WhatsApp messages exchanged between the officers from December 2018 to March 2019 were found to be racist, discriminatory and offensive in nature.
The hearing panel, which sat for four days at North Yorkshire Police Headquarters in Northallerton, decided to uphold the gross misconduct for both officers.
Deputy Chief Constable Mabs Hussain, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “The racist language and sentiments contained in the series of WhatsApp messages are repulsive.
“It has no place in society, let alone from people who have sworn an oath to uphold the highest standards of fairness, integrity and respect to all people.
“The evidence in this case was damning, and it is only right that the panel upheld the gross misconduct and the officers have been dismissed from North Yorkshire Police.”
He added: “While I fully acknowledge the damage such cases have on public confidence in the police service both here in North Yorkshire and across the country, I want to make it clear that the police are overwhelmingly a force for good.
"Where behaviour of this nature is uncovered, we will take robust action."