Police officer reprimanded after being caught on video calling youths ‘little f****ts’ – but will keep his job
States of Jersey Police take part in Jersey Pride celebrations. (StatesLgbt/ Twitter)
A police officer from Jersey, in the Channel Islands, has been reprimanded by department leaders after a video emerged of him calling a group of youths “little faggots”.
In footage obtained by ITV confirmed as genuine by police, the officer is quizzed by one of the youths why he had just called the others in the gang the vile homophobic slur, which the unnamed officer admits to spluttering.
However, despite the footage being sent to the States of Jersey Police’s watchdog, the officer will still keep his job, BBC News reported.
Jersey police officer dismissed accusations of homophobic from youth after calling them ‘faggots’.
The video showed the cop shrug off accusations of homophobia from the youth.
He was, according to sources close to the department, attempting to break up the gang’s gathering in St Brelade on 27 May amid shelter-in-place orders to curb the swelling coronavirus caseloads.
During the barbed exchange, the officer said: “How’s it [discrimination]? You tell me in your drunken stupid state how that’s discrimination?”
The youth then doubled down on his accusation: “I’m not drunk, that’s discrimination.”
“No it’s not, mate,” the officer hit back. “Look up ‘discrimination’, if you had a phone.”
The young person insisted again: “You just called them faggots and they’re not gay.”
The footage was sent to the bureau’s Professional Standards Department to conduct an internal disciplinary investigation, State of Jersey Police representatives said last week. Two disciplinary charges were leveraged against the officer for his use of “prejudicial language”, authorities said.
He pleaded guilty to both and was, at a hearing, given a “formal reprimand” which will remain on the officer’s record.
The officer was “apologetic and fully remorseful of his comments and behaviour” at the hearing, the force said.
“We are liaising with the LGBT+ community regarding lessons learnt from the incident, and how we can continue to work together to protect all islanders,” said the island’s chief of police, Robin Smith.
Smith stressed that the department expects the “highest professional standards” from staff, and do not consent “any form of prejudicial conduct or language”.
