Police whistleblower ‘bullied’ over training unit concerns

Andy Homan claims he was bullied and humiliated by his bosses at Humberside Police after telling them of alleged safety short cuts at the unit training officers in skills including high-speed pursuits.

The police constable, from Hull, told an employment tribunal he was transferred to a “punishment posting” in Bridlington, the furthest away of the force’s stations.

Humberside Police dispute the claims and say they moved him after he rode on a motorbike with a badly damaged tyre that could have caused a serious accident, the second time in 16 months.

Mr Homan, a training instructor at the time of the incident, admitted at the tribunal in Hull he would have prosecuted drivers with similarly worn tyres in his previous role as a traffic officer.

But the officer, who still works for Humberside Police in a different department, said the disciplinary action was only taken in March last year because of the health and safety issues he raised.

In a witness statement he said: “I believe that the incident with the tyre was seized upon by the manager to facilitate my removal from driver training as he was fed up with my challenges about health and safety issues which he felt were trivial and merely interfered with the running of his section. The types of items I would regularly highlight would include inconsistent, dangerous or illegal practices.”

Mr Homan alleges safety checks were cancelled on vehicles to get training sessions running more quickly, assessments cut short and lesson plans run which were “woefully out of date”.

His manager David Burton said he was “truly taken aback” by the allegations of bullying.

David Hall, the force’s training manager, said the situation was handled “reasonably and fairly”.

He said: “Throughout my career, I have not seen tyres damaged to such a serious extent and to see a tyre on a police motorcycle worn in this way on two occasions, by the same officer in practically identical circumstances, was virtually beyond belief in my view.”

Employment tribunal judge Humphrey Forrest told Mr Homan there was a lack of “hard evidence” of bullying.

The tribunal, at which Mr Homan claims he suffered a detriment due to making a “public interest disclosure”, continues.