Final written warning for police officer who used racist slur
PC Warwick made the comment at Shepcote Lane custody suite shortly after he found out he had passed his promotion exams
- Published
A police officer has been given a final written warning after making a racist comment to describe a colleague, a misconduct panel has said.
PC David Warwick used the term to refer to the heritage of British-Indian officer Temporary Sergeant Baldeesh Boora Brown in Sheffield in July 2020.
It was found he made the comment during a "jocular" exchange about his recent promotion and it was a joke gone wrong.
The panel said it was "offensive in the extreme", a breach of South Yorkshire Police's standards and amounted to gross misconduct.
PC Warwick denied using the racial slur to Temp Sgt Boora Brown while on duty at Shepcote Lane custody suite.
The panel found it was likely the officer did make the comments, with there being no motive for TS Boora Brown to lie.
TS Boora Brown, who had known PC Warwick professionally for 20 years, provided a level of detail the panel found could not have been invented, chair Eileen Herlihy said.
The panel added it did not believe PC Warwick was racist or malicious, but he did use a racist slur and failed to treat his colleague with respect.
Ms Herlihy said it had the potential to cause harm to colleagues and undermine public confidence in the force.
"[The comment] was not reflective of his behaviour and he had an otherwise unblemished record of service over 24 years," Ms Herlihy said.
The panel found it was disproportionate to dismiss the officer, Ms Herlihy added.
A further allegation of misconduct, relating to a comment that same day from PC Warwick about eating curry, was not proven.
PC Warwick admitted making a comment about an Indian man, but said it was due to "unconscious bias" rather than racism.
The panel found it did not amount to misconduct.