Police sergeant sacked after telling detainee to ‘get on a boat’

The officer was dismissed with immediate effect after a misconduct panel found gross misconduct proven over the discriminatory remarks, which were made at Mansfield police station in November last year.

The detainee, who is a British citizen of Iranian descent, was being escorted towards a prison van to be taken to magistrates’ court when the incident occurred.

CCTV footage examined by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) showed the officer take hold of the man’s jacket and move him towards the exit. He then told him to “get back on a boat and go back to where you come from”.

The IOPC investigation followed a conduct referral from Nottinghamshire Police after a colleague raised concerns about the sergeant’s treatment of the detainee. The footage also showed that the detainee had made disparaging comments about England and had delayed boarding the prison van.

However, IOPC Director of Engagement Emily Barry said this did not justify the officer’s response. “Officers face challenging situations daily, but it is never appropriate to resort to racially discriminatory comments,” she said. “As a police sergeant, he held a supervisory position and with that comes an elevated duty to exercise self-control and model appropriate behaviour.”

The officer told the misconduct hearing that he regretted his choice of words and said they had not been racially motivated.

He said he had been responding to comments made by the detainee, who had been rude and abusive. He nevertheless accepted that his response had been inappropriate and could damage the reputation of Nottinghamshire Police.

The panel found the officer had breached professional standards relating to equality and diversity, authority, respect and courtesy, and discreditable conduct.

The officer, who has been granted anonymity on medical grounds, has also been placed on the police barred list and cannot work in policing again.