A former student officer with Thames Valley Police has been found to have committed gross misconduct after making discriminatory and racist remarks targeting immigrants and Muslims.
James Wood, who commenced his 22-week training programme at Sulhamstead in October 2023, was discovered to have repeatedly made inappropriate statements throughout his training.
A police misconduct panel that sat for several days beginning July 2 determined that had Wood not already left the force, dismissal would have been the appropriate sanction.
The proven allegations included that the trainee stated he abstained from alcohol because the last time he drank, he had been extremely racist, and on another occasion asserted that every terrorist follows Islam.
He also rejected the notion of staying in a hotel with his partner, describing the establishment as occupied by criminals.
The panel additionally heard that he left a favourable remark on a TikTok video concerning catastrophic flooding in Pakistan that resulted in approximately 2,000 fatalities, a post he subsequently denied authoring.
Thames Valley Police’s misconduct panel determined that the former officer’s behaviour constituted gross misconduct and violated professional standards covering authority, respect and courtesy, equality and diversity, and conduct that brings the service into disrepute.
A statement from the panel indicated that prejudice, preconceptions, and racist or discriminatory language or actions have no position in contemporary policing.
The panel stated that such conduct damages the neutrality of law enforcement and must be challenged and eliminated from the profession.
The panel established the allegations on the balance of probabilities.
Members described Wood’s behaviour as highly offensive and stated it attacks the core values of fairness, respect and impartiality that policing represents.
The panel concluded that the sole appropriate outcome was a determination that Wood would have been dismissed had he remained a serving officer.
Wood left Thames Valley Police in March 2024, three days after a complaint was submitted.
He had participated in some initial stages of the investigation, verbally acknowledging the remarks before his departure, but subsequently challenged the allegations in a formal written submission.
He disputed making the TikTok remark or owning the account in question, and contested the versions of events provided by his colleagues.
Nevertheless, the panel determined there was credible and supported evidence from several witnesses, including screen captures and accounts from fellow trainees.
Wood elected not to take part in the hearing and was deemed to have completely withdrawn from the misconduct proceedings.
The hearing continued without him, as permitted under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020.
The panel stated that the conduct was purposeful and deliberate.
The panel concluded that such language and behaviour has no place in the police service.