Hampshire Constabulary police officer reinstated after using racial slur
A police officer recently reinstated to his role after he was sacked last year was fired because he used a racial slur to refer to a black woman.Jack Thrumble used it in a WhatsApp conversation while working as volunteer special constable for Dorset Police in February 2021.He later joined Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and was sacked by that force after the content of his messages was revealed and found to be discriminatory.But he appealed and he was given back his job as a police constable in April after the Police Appeals Tribunal downgraded a previous gross misconduct finding to misconduct.
Warning: This article contains content that some readers may find upsetting and offensive
Documents show that in a WhatsApp conversation with two other special constables, Mr Thrumble shared a picture of a black woman who had liked his profile on the Tinder dating app.He said she was "too black for me" and added: "If I wanted some hot chocolate in my life I would go to Costa."The three-person tribunal that reinstated Mr Thrumble included Cdr Katie Lilburn, the head of the Metropolitan Police's professional standards department.It said the previous panel last year was "entitled to conclude" that Mr Thrumble's language was discriminatory and reference to the woman's colour "amounted to her being treated unfairly owing to the membership of her ethnic group".But it said it was not serious enough to warrant a finding of gross misconduct and that it was rather "a lapse of judgement by a young special constable".It said positive references from other police officers showed that "this behaviour does not and will not be found in his dealings with colleagues or members of the public in the future".
Mr Thrumble, the tribunal was told, "still remains absolutely devastated" by his behaviour and "feels sick to the core" about it.The tribunal ordered that he be paid retrospectively by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary from when he was sacked until his reinstatement.It added that "if a member of the public, of any gender or ethnicity, were to know the full facts of this case, which include how [Mr Thrumble] has consistently dealt with public-facing duties through his career, they would not be put off speaking to or having their matter dealt with by [him]".When he was sacked, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary's Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said the "use of discriminatory language is utterly at odds with the values the public are rightly entitled to expect from police".The force has been approached for comment.
You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Buckinghamshire Council cracks down on motorists for littering
A council has begun issuing £500 penalty notices to motorists captured in the act of throwing litter from their Council is using newly adopted civil enforcement powers as part of its wider For Bucks Sake anti-littering is one of the first authorities in England to implement the process, which is more streamlined and quicker than the criminal route to member for environment, climate change and waste, Carl Jackson said: "We have a zero tolerance approach to littering of any kind in Buckinghamshire." The new enforcement powers are covered under the terms of the Littering from Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations regulations allow the council to issue a penalty notice to the registered keeper of a vehicle from which litter is thrown, regardless of who committed the act. Buckinghamshire Council has issued three penalty notices under the legislation and in each case the maximum fine of £500 was given - and paid in April, a van driver was caught on roadside CCTV discarding litter from the passenger side footwell while parked on the A412 in Denham. In the same month, a driver was caught by a dashcam throwing a water bottle from his window on the A418 in May, a small sack of litter was captured by roadside CCTV being thrown from a moving vehicle on the A412 in Iver. As part of the For Bucks Sake campaign to combat littering, drivers are asked to submit dashcam footage if they record evidence of littering from vehicles. Submissions must clearly show the offence and the vehicle's registration number and the evidence can be uploaded on the council Jackson said: "I strongly encourage anyone who has footage of litter being dropped from a vehicle to send that video evidence to Buckinghamshire Council so we can identify the perpetrator and ensure they pay the penalty for their selfish and inconsiderate action."The council said that all income from fines is ringfenced for environmental enforcement and street cleaning. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Leeds takeaway refused late licence over area's disorder
A Greek takeaway in Leeds city centre has been refused permission to serve food into the early hours because of "serious concerns" over crime and public disorder in the on Duncan Street, faced objections from police and the council over its application to open until 04:00 BST on Fridays and Saturdays and 02:00 BST Sunday to venue, run by Apollonis Greek Food Gyros Ltd, is in a Cumulative Impact Area designated by the council as suffering from high levels of alcohol-related Andy Clifford told Leeds City Council's licensing sub-committee hearing that they were seeking an "an outright refusal of the licence". A licensing report stated that the area was designated as a "red zone" which meant it was "considered highly saturated and experiences particularly high levels of crime, disorder or nuisance."Susan Duckworth, the council's principal licensing officer, said her department had been trying to help the venue operators apply for the despite concerns over alcohol-related disorder in the area, they had not shown how they would manage crowds or drunk customers, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Mrs Duckworth said: "I really strongly feel they would not be capable of organising their business in a way that would help with the problems we have with nuisance and disorder in that part of the city."Councillors unanimously voted to reject the licence application after deciding to proceed in the venue operators' absence.
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Slough man stopped by police had no licence for 44 years
A man who was stopped by police for using cloned registration plates had not held a driving licence for 44 years, police have Valley Police's road policing unit from Taplow stopped the man in Slough, seizing the Citroën he had been driver, who was also from Slough, was reported to court, the force said.A spokesperson said: "Driving with cloned plates or without a license is illegal and undermines road safety. "These actions can lead to serious consequences such as fines, vehicle seizures and prosecutions."We urge everyone to follow the law and drive responsibly."Car cloning involves people stealing or copying another car's registration plates, often choosing plates from a similar looking vehicle.A BBC investigation uncovered a surge in car cloning, leading to thousands of fines such as penalty charge notices being the 44-year span without a licence in this case, the BBC has previously reported on incidents where drivers have not held a licence for 50, 52, and even 70 years. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
