Officer would have been sacked for racist videos

Former DS Aaron Evans' mobile phone contained numerous racist and homophobic videos

A police officer who had racist and homophobic videos on his phone would have been sacked had he not resigned, a disciplinary panel has found.

Former Staffordshire DS Aaron Evans was found to have breached standards of professional behaviour.

He has been banned from working for any police force.

Evans had shared an offensive image and remained in a WhatsApp group where racist and homophobic content was routinely shared over a long period of time.

The ex-officer was placed on the National College of Policing's Barred List after a one-day hearing on 15 May.

Dep Ch Con Becky Riggs said the discrimination and attitudes revealed in the messages were "completely unacceptable and have no place in policing."

Ms Riggs added: "We are fully committed to having a police force that is anti-discriminatory, and we will continue to deal with behaviour like this robustly.

"I hope today demonstrates that WhatsApp is nowhere to hide offensive imagery and content.

"The large majority of our officers, staff, and volunteers are professional, dedicated individuals who act with integrity and work hard to keep their communities safe."