A Metropolitan Police sergeant has been dismissed from the force after he was secretly recorded saying a detainee 'deserves to be beaten up'.
Secret Footage Reveals Damaging Comments
The remarks were captured by an undercover journalist and featured in a BBC Panorama documentary. The footage showed Sergeant Lawrence Hume, based at Charing Cross police station, referring to a detainee as a 'prick' and stating, "I wanted to say he's a prick, he deserves to be beaten up, but yeah, it's all recorded."
During a six-minute clip played multiple times at a misconduct hearing in south London, Sergeant Hume was heard adding, "charge him, send him to prison, throw away the key", and reiterating, "don't care, deserves to be beaten up don't he".
Leadership Failure and Gross Misconduct
The hearing, which took place on Friday, was told that the undercover journalist also recounted an exchange with another officer, Sergeant Joe McIlvenny, about the use of force on a different detainee. When the journalist mentioned witnessing a 'little dig' and being warned about cameras, Sergeant Hume replied, "yeah, you have to watch out mate."
Panel chairman Commander Jason Prins found that Sergeant Hume's behaviour constituted gross misconduct and he was dismissed without notice. Mr Prins stated the sergeant was "unable to provide a satisfying answer" for his comments and noted he made them "on two occasions unprompted" while in a leadership position responsible for detainee welfare.
Wider Fallout from BBC Investigation
Cecily White, representing the appropriate authority, told the panel that the comments were capable of damaging public confidence in the police, even if they had never been broadcast.
In his defence, Sergeant Hume claimed he was "frustrated" from dealing with a "non-compliant detainee" who had tried to spit at a colleague. He stated, "I would never say that if the public could see that at all" and "I would no way endorse a detainee to be beaten up."
Sergeant Hume is now the sixth police officer to be sacked as a direct result of the BBC investigation. Last month, Sergeant Clayton Robinson, Pc Jason Sinclair-Birt, Pc Philip Neilson, Pc Martin Borg, and Sergeant McIlvenny were all dismissed without notice in separate hearings for gross misconduct.
Amanda Rowe, director at the police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct, said: "PS Hume's comments were unacceptable and completely unprofessional. A panel has found that the officer breached the police standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy, and discreditable conduct, and it's right that he has been dismissed from the force."
