Nottinghamshire Police officer made racist remarks to colleagues

Daniel Bell joined the force as a response officer based in West Bridgford in March 2021

A Nottinghamshire Police officer made racist comments towards Asian colleagues and described women as "meat", a misconduct panel heard.

Former PC Daniel Bell, 28, mimicked a Pakistani accent in front of an Asian colleague and used other "very offensive" terms, the hearing was told.

The panel concluded he would have been dismissed without notice had he not already resigned from the force.

The force said it followed "stringent vetting processes and procedures".

The day before the hearing at Nottinghamshire Police's headquarters in Arnold, Mr Bell admitted four of the allegations but denied a fifth, which the panel opted not to pursue.

He had previously denied all the claims and said the witnesses were lying in an interview in January, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

An internal police misconduct hearing was held at the police headquarters on Thursday

Liz Briggs, representing Nottinghamshire Police at the hearing, said the officer "deliberately targeted officers on the basis of their race".

The panel heard that on 29 October last year, Mr Bell pointed to an Asian man and said words to the effect of "look, there's your uncle" to his colleague before he "mimicked a Pakistani accent".

When he was challenged, the officer said he was "only joking".

He also said another Asian officer "could not speak English" and was "embarrassing to Nottinghamshire Police".

Both officers felt Mr Bell was "mocking their culture".

'Unprofessional'

Ms Briggs added: "There has been, and remains, national concern about how the police treat those with protected characteristics.

"It cannot be underestimated how such misconduct would adversely impact the relationship between the police force and the public."

Speaking after the hearing, Supt Andrew Reynolds, of Nottinghamshire Police, said the force encouraged all staff and officers to call out racism, misogyny and unprofessional behaviour.

He said: "This shows that far from there being a culture of racism and misogyny, there is in fact a culture where these views are not accepted and are dealt with robustly."

Insp Simon Riley, of the Police Federation, which represents officers, added: "[Mr Bell's] six months of reflection post-resignation have led him to the conclusion that his behaviour was absolutely not of the standards required of a police officer.

"He has asked me to express his remorse for his actions for the offence caused and that a full and frank apology be recorded."