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17
Mar 2023
North Yorkshire Police officers sacked after racist WhatsApp messages
Two North Yorkshire Police officers have been dismissed after sending racist text messages between each other.
Detective constable Danielle Kirby and police constable James Mills were alleged to have breached the force’s standards of professional behaviour.
Both were dismissed following a gross misconduct hearing at the force's headquarters in Northallerton.
The pair exchanged WhatsApp messages which were found to be racist between December 2018 and March 2019.
Mabs Hussain, deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, said:
“The racist language and sentiments contained in the series of WhatsApp messages are repulsive.
“It has no place in society, let alone from people who have sworn an oath to uphold the highest standards of fairness, integrity and respect to all people.
“The evidence in this case was damning, and it is only right that the panel upheld the gross misconduct and the officers have been dismissed from North Yorkshire Police.”
Gerry Sydenham, who chaired the panel, said:
“The messages exchanged by former PC Mills and former DC Kirby contained appalling racist comments which were egregious in nature and content.
“The corrosive effect of such racist gross misconduct upon public confidence in policing cannot be understated.
“It is intolerable and devastating to the good work of other police officers who try daily to build the public's trust and confidence in policing.
“Both officers undermined the public's trust and the trust of their police force in themselves in a grave and shocking manner, causing very significant and potentially lasting damage to public confidence in policing."
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