West Mercia Police officer sacked for sharing racist and homophobic memes

The matter came to light in March 2021

A police officer has been sacked after sharing racist and homophobic messages on WhatsApp.

The West Mercia Police officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had inappropriate and offensive content on his work mobile phone, the force said.

A gross misconduct hearing on Wednesday found he committed serious breaches of standards of professional behaviour.

The matter came to light in March 2021 when he was suspended from duty.

The former sergeant, who was based in Telford, also sent racist, homophobic and inappropriate memes and content on his personal mobile phone, the hearing was told.

It was also found he engaged in conversations via social media messaging with another officer which contained racist and homophobic comments.

The conversations included derogatory comments and discussed abhorrent violence.

A connected misconduct hearing is taking place next week, the force added.

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Jones said: "There is simply no place in West Mercia Police for individuals who have racist, homophobic and offensive attitudes."

The officer will now be added to the College of Policing Barred List, preventing him from ever working in UK policing in the future.