British policeman who mimicked Indian woman’s accent found guilty

London, November 27

A police officer from northern England has been found guilty of gross misconduct by a disciplinary tribunal for mimicking the Indian accent of a woman who had called the West Yorkshire Police call centre to report a hate crime.

Patrick Harrison was found guilty following a misconduct hearing last month, and the panel concluded that he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned as a Police Constable (PC) from West Yorkshire Police.

“On November 29, 2022, former PC Harrison was on duty, working in the Force Call Centre, when he made a call to SA, a female member of the public who had reported a hate-related assault,” reads the judgment.

“The former officer asked SA for more details in relation to why she believed that it was a hate crime. Having had the conversation, the former officer failed to clear the line and repeated back some of the phrases SA had used, mimicking her accent whilst doing so. SA heard these comments and made a report to Tell MAMA,” it said.

Harrison accepted that his behaviour was “unacceptable and inexcusable” and that it breached the standards of professional conduct.