UK police apologize for posts about rape, battered women and racial slurs

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LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) – British police apologized on Tuesday after an investigation revealed officers discussed beatings of women and slurred racist and homophobic slurs and a policeman sent a message to a colleague to tell her that he would rape her.

Trust in the London Police Service has been shaken by a series of revelations in recent years, including that one of its officers arrested a woman, Sarah Everard, before abducting, raping and murdering her .

A police watchdog investigation into Charing Cross police station, less than a mile from London police headquarters, revealed a culture of bullying, racial discrimination, ‘toxic masculinity , misogyny and sexual harassment”.

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In a report, the Independent Office for Police Conduct detailed some of the explicit messages sent on WhatsApp.

Officer 2: “Grab her by the pussy”

Officer 1: “Have you ever slapped your miss?”

Officer 1: “It makes them love you more. Seriously since I did that, she won’t leave me alone… Hit a bird and she’ll love you. Human nature.”

In another case, a male officer sent messages to a female colleague, including: “I would rape you with pleasure” and “If I were single, I would chloroform you with pleasure”.

The investigation revealed that an officer was referred to by others as a “raperson of mcrapey” due to rumors that he brought women back to the police station for sex or because he enjoyed harassing women.

The posts were variously offensive to Muslims, Africans, Somalis, Auschwitz, gay people and people with disabilities.

Officers joked about making dog food from African children, called Somalis “rats” and called a black man a “thief”. People with disabilities were referred to as “delays”.

Some of the posts were so obscene or offensive that Reuters did not include them.

“We are deeply sorry to all Londoners for the misconduct of a team of officers at Charing Cross Police Station,” London Police said.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel says London police have a problem with their culture.

“It’s been clear for some time that there are issues with the culture of the Metropolitan Police,” Patel said. “The public rightly expects police behavior to be beyond reproach – standards need to be raised.”

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Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Howard Goller

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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