Lincolnshire PC denies Nazi salute and transgender slur

A police officer made a Nazi salute and said the parents of transgender children were "loony" and should be shot, a misconduct panel heard.

PC Michael Colbourne is accused of using inappropriate language and gestures in breach of police standards in December 2018 and January this year.

A hearing at Lincolnshire Police's headquarters was told the officer made the comments to civilian colleagues working in the traffic process office.

PC Colbourne denies the allegations.

In the first incident, PC Colbourne allegedly used words to the effect of "it's like working for the Gestapo" and then made a Nazi salute after Beverley Hewitt, a manager at the unit, asked him to leave.

'Couldn't tell him'

Giving evidence, Ms Hewitt said: "Mr Colbourne frequently disrupted the office, was hard to manage and could be intimidating."

"He said we couldn't tell him what to do because he was a police officer," she said.

Administrator Eleanor Stewart added: "I remember her saying to PC Colbourne, 'OK, time for you to leave now'... Then as Bev left he referred to it like being in the Gestapo and he made a Hitler sign."

The officer admitted the Gestapo reference but denied making a Nazi salute, instead claiming he was waving to a colleague.

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On the second occasion, on 17 January this year, Ms Stewart told the panel PC Colbourne said: "'I've come to a conclusion that these 12-year-olds who don't know what gender they are, their parents should be lined up and shot.'"

Another member of staff, Eleanor Bayliss, told the hearing: "I remember having a conversation about transgender [children] and I remember him saying that he blames the parents, he thinks they're loony."

However, PC Colbourne denied this, and said his words were: "Parents who exert pressure on teenagers to change gender are bonkers."

The hearing continues.