Police officer who mimicked victim's Indian accent guilty of gross misconduct

Patrick Harrison was told he would have been dismissed from the force following a disciplinary hearing, if he had not resigned at an earlier date.

He was working as a police constable in the force’s call centre when he took a phone call from a woman reporting a hate crime in November 2022.

After taking the report, he repeated some of the phrases she had used and mimicked her accent without realising she was still on the line.

Harrison then phoned the woman back on another phone to find out whether she had heard what he said.

The misconduct panel said the officer has apologised to the woman after the “single, impulsive incident” but there is “no justification for his actions”.

“The actions of the former officer were discriminatory to (the victim) on the basis of her race, religion or belief,” the ruling stated.

“This factor is aggravated by the fact that it took place in the context that she was reporting a hate crime.

"The panel accepts that the action was not planned, but it was deliberate.

“The former officer’s actions caused (the victim) psychological distress and resulted in her withdrawing her direct cooperation with the police, such was her loss of trust and confidence in the police.

“If the former officer’s actions become known more widely, there will be significant reputational damage to the police service as a whole.

“Racism and Islamophobia within the police are issues of significant national concern. The actions of the former officer have caused or may cause harm to the wider community.”

It comes after the force sacked PC Louis Hepplestone because an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation found he was involved in deeply offensive conversations on WhatsApp.

The watchdog said Hepplestone made misogynistic comments about a colleague and failed to challenge the racist views of his colleague William Loyd-Hughes.

Concerns were raised after a separate investigation into Loyd-Hughes, who worked as a detention officer at Huddersfield Police Station.

He was sentenced to a community order in April for sharing content supporting Northern Irish paramilitaries on social media.

IOPC Regional Director Emily Barry said officers should always challenge and report “vile and offensive" views.