20 January 2023 , 15:54
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A police sergeant who set up anonymous social media accounts to send "inappropriate", "upsetting" and "derogatory" messages to a female colleague has been sacked.
Connor Phillips referred to the woman as "my b***h" and asked her to meet up, causing her "significant distress and concern", a public misconduct hearing heard.
The British Transport Police sergeant even filed an anonymous report to the force's standards committee accusing his female colleague of making negative comments about another officer.
The officer, whose actions were "driven by misogyny and amounted to sexual harassment", has been booted off the force.
Detective Superintendent Peter Fulton, Head of BTP's Professional Standards Department, said: "Connor Phillips is not fit to be a police officer and he won't be ever again.
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The officer's actions were 'driven by misogyny and amounted to sexual harassment', a public misconduct hearing heard (Getty Images/iStockphoto)"Premeditated misogynistic behaviour of this kind by an officer is gravely worrying, and this outcome sends a clear message that it simply will not be tolerated within BTP."
A BTP spokeperson added: "The independent misconduct hearing panel took the view that his actions were driven by misogyny and amounted to sexual harassment."
Phillips set up anonymous social media accounts around October 2020 and contacted his colleague in the following months.
In March 2021, he sent an anonymous text claiming to be concerned about her ex-boyfriend and in May texted her again to say "meet up?".
The anonymous report to BTP's Professional Standards Department was filed on July 29, 2021 and earlier that month he removed the officer's body-worn video from the police post for a week and then replaced it.
The sergeant's texts left the woman distressed (Stock photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)It also emerged that in June 2021, he impersonated being a member of the public to lodge a false complaint against a second officer, using BTP's public-facing online complaint system.
Phillips, who transferred from Dundee BTP to London in 2018, resigned from the Force in March 2022 but was formally dismissed following the hearing.
The panel concluded his actions amounted to gross misconduct, and he would have been dismissed had he still been a serving officer.
Det Supt Fulton added: "Connor Phillips launched a devious, systematic and highly planned attack against another officer which has understandably caused her and those close to her significant distress and concern over a long period of time.
"I would like to commend her courage in coming forward which enabled us to launch a lengthy and complex investigation into his abhorrent activity.
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"I fully support the decision of the panel to dismiss him with immediate effect."