Detective used race slur at nightclub, panel told

The incident took place at Lola Lo nightclub in Cambridge city centre

A police officer used his warrant card to try to gain access to a nightclub and used racist language, a police misconduct panel heard.

The panel was told Det Con Danny Buckett was off-duty and on a team night out at Lola Lo in Cambridge city centre which began on the afternoon of 2 December 2021.

The misconduct hearing at Tempsford in Bedfordshire was told he breached standards of professional behaviour.

The panel found he would been dismissed without notice for gross misconduct if he were still a serving officer.

The panel was told Mr Buckett and his colleagues met at 16:00 GMT and had a meal, drinks, and went to another nightclub before arriving at Lola Lo.

They were seen in high spirits, dancing on a table in the club and were told to get down, the hearing heard.

After Mr Buckett removed his shirt for the second time, he was asked to leave the club by one of the doormen. He re-entered the club and was ejected by the same doorman.

His behaviour was described as immature, arrogant and boisterous, but not aggressive.

The panel was told his warrant card was confiscated by the doormen after he showed it to them in an attempt to get in.

By about 03:00, he and his friends were joined outside the club by two other off-duty police officers on a separate night out.

Mr Buckett was sobering up by this stage and the two other officers reported they heard him use a racial slur about the doorman, the panel heard.

Testimonials

In mitigation, it heard the comments were a one-off, spoken under his breath, there were no other acts of discriminatory behaviour and they were not heard by the doorman or members of the public.

The panel was told he used the warrant card to prove he could be trusted to re-enter the premises and retrieve his jacket and house keys.

He admitted using the warrant card, but said he had no memory of using racist language.

Testimonials from Mr Buckett's time in the military contradicted the assertion he harboured deep-rooted racist attitudes, the hearing was told.

But the panel considered that the national concern about racism in the police was an aggravating factor.

As well as being found to have committed gross misconduct, Mr Buckett was placed on the police barred list for five years.

Mr Buckett had already been the subject of a misconduct hearing in September 2023, but had instead been given a two-year final written warning.

The case was returned to the panel after the Independent Office for Police Conduct successfully applied for a judicial review.