Police officer ‘threatened gay colleague with penknife’
Two Metropolitan Police officers bullied and taunted a gay colleague, with one saying that his health issues were ‘God’s punishment for homosexuality’, a disciplinary hearing has been told.
PCs Nicholas Vanner and Asid Butt face allegations of gross misconduct over their treatment of a civilian colleague, known as Witness A.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred between 2009 and 2011, when all three worked in the Government Security Zone, monitoring CCTV around London.
The Scotland Yard disciplinary hearing that as part of the harassment, PC Vanner allegedly smeared ink on his colleague’s phone, leaving ink over his face for days when he tried to answer it.
Meanwhile, PC Asid Butt allegedly told a staff member that the man’s health issues “was God’s way of punishing him for being gay.”
According to the Telegraph, Witness A recounted: “These pranks would happen time and time again but the time with the ink on the phone only happened once. I got so upset by it. I had ink on my face for four days.
“PC Vanner made the call, laughed and put the phone down. I looked at the phone and it had black ink on it.
“I just got up and went out to the bathroom to clean it off. I said to him it’s not funny. I was so upset I thought about going home but I went back into the room.”
He added of a disturbing incident when he was threatened with a penknife, recounting: “I would be sitting working on something and he would sneak up behind me and I would hear the click and he would come up right behind my ear and say ‘I’m going to open you up like a can of beans’.”
Explaining why he did not complain sooner, the Witness said: “The reason is I didn’t think anyone would believe me.
“It was my word against two police officers. I just wanted it to go away. Honestly I didn’t think, with two police officers in the room, anyone would believe me.
“It’s such a small team I didn’t want to make matters worse. At the time it was horrendous as it was. Once [Vanner] left I was happy and just thought it would all go away. But this has brought it all back.”
PCs Vanner and Butt both deny the charges. The hearing continues.
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