26 November 2023 , 15:00
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A West Yorkshire policeman who imitated the Indian accent of a woman reporting a hate crime has been convicted of gross misconduct.
Former PC Patrick Harrison, who had resigned from the force prior to the judgement, had "mimicked" the caller's Indian accent over the phone without knowing she was still on the line. After hearing the officer repeat back some of the phrases she had told him in her accent, the woman reported him to Islamophobia monitoring group Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks).
A police misconduct panel has now ruled that the ex-West Yorkshire Police officer's discriminatory actions "de-humanised" the caller and were sufficient to dismiss him from the force had he not already quit. The panel heard that the woman, named only as SA, had called police to report a 'hate-related assault' in November last year. PC Harrison had asked the woman for more detail as to why she considered the incident a hate crime.
Following the conversation, the officer repeated back some of the phrases the caller had used, whilst 'mimicking' her accent. The woman, who PC Harrison did not realise was still on the line, heard these comments and made a report to Tell MAMA - a national project recording anti-Muslim incidents across the UK.
The former officer admitted his 'unacceptable and inexcusable' behaviour and accepted it breached the standards of professional conduct and amounted to gross misconduct. The panel heard he had since resigned from the force, with his final working day having occurred just last month.
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However, panel chair Katherine Wood confirmed that if he hadn't resigned, PC Harrison would have been dismissed from the force for his "deliberate, conscious discrimination."
She said: "We accept that the former Officer did not know that SA could hear what he was saying, it was therefore not targeted. We find that had he thought about it, he could reasonably have foreseen the risk of harm from his actions. It was conscious discrimination, which had the consequence of excluding and dehumanising SA, diminishing her and the complaint that she was making."
The panel heard former PC Harrison was remorseful for his actions and had even offered to meet with the caller to apologise in person. But the panel also heard his actions had caused 'psychological distress' to SA, and had resulted in her 'loss of trust and confidence' in the police.
Miss Wood ruled that PC Harrison had discriminated against the woman caller due to her race, adding: "Racism and Islamophobia within the police are issues of significant national concern. Had the former officer not already tendered his resignation, [the panel] would have recommended his immediate dismissal from the service.
She added: "The behaviour of the former Officer is so serious and the impact that it has had on SA and the confidence of the public as a whole is such that no lesser sanction would be justified. We have found that former PC Harrison has subjected SA to discriminatory behaviour based on her race.
"It must follow that former PC Harrison has engaged in behaviour which breaches the standard of professional behaviour relating to Authority, Respect and Courtesy and Equality and Diversity. We are satisfied that [his actions] amount to gross misconduct. The panel has no doubt that the Officer has suffered a significant degree of shame, regret and remorse for his actions and the consequences."