Policeman keeps his job after telling black man 'You'd be the first I'd shoot if I had a gun'

[dutchman]

A West Midlands policeman who was caught on camera telling a black man in a Coventry home, “You would be the first one I’d shoot if I had a gun” has avoided the sack after a long-running probe by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)



The officer in question has instead received a final written warning, despite national condemnation of the ‘racist and offensive’ remarks after the video went viral on the internet.

In the video filmed on a mobile phone by the black man Jack Chambers, 24, in August last year, the officer is also heard to say during an exchange: “You’re going to go Black Lives Matter on us, are ya?” His patrol team are seen smiling and laughing.

West Midlands Police at the time issued a statement saying the “apologetic” officer had been “removed from frontline duties” pending an internal investigation, and added the force had referred the matter to the IOPC, which was then called the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

The IOPC said today: “A complaint was made on behalf of the man the comments were directed at, and following a referral from the force we began an investigation which looked at the conduct of those officers present.

“Our investigation included reviewing footage from the incident, taking statements from witnesses and interviewing the officers present. It was completed in March but release of our findings has awaited conclusion of misconduct proceedings.

“We found that the police constable who made the remarks had a case to answer for misconduct and the force agreed. At a misconduct meeting held by West Midlands Police on 8 June the case was proven and the officer given a final written warning.

“The officer told our investigator that he regretted making the comments and, while he accepted they had been unprofessional and clumsy, he had not meant them to be racist, offensive or threatening.

“Another police constable was dealt with through management action after it was agreed by the force that he had a case to answer for misconduct for not challenging the comments made by his colleague.”