An officer of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) was dismissed for sending a series of “highly inappropriate and offensive” messages containing “sectarian, racist, homophobic, antisemitic” and “misogynistic” content.

As reported by RTÉ, the officer was investigated by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. The case began when the complainant contacted the Ombudsman, after the PSNI officer continued to send the material despite having repeatedly been asked to stop.

The communications in question were sent via WhatsApp over a few months and contained content that was sectarian, racist, homophobic, antisemitic, misogynistic and sexualised. The messages had also been sent while the officer was on duty.

Digital analysis of the officer’s phone found that messages, images and videos had been sent to police colleagues and members of the public. The communications contained content that was “highly inappropriate and offensive, to the complainant, other members of the public and other police officers,” said Nikki Davis, Director of Investigations with the Police Ombudsman’s Office.

She added, “This was not a one-off, isolated incident, which could potentially be attributed to a lapse in judgement. It was sustained, consistent behaviour, exacerbated by the police officer’s view, when interviewed by our investigators, that he did not consider the material to be offensive or his actions to be in breach of the PSNI Code of Ethics.”

Davis continued: “When this kind of messaging specifically targets women and combines sexual, racist and sectarian references, it moves into the realm of online gender-based hate speech.

“For a police officer to display these attitudes and behaviours towards women is unacceptable, and specifically undermines the PSNI’s commitment to ending violence against women and girls.

“However, this case demonstrates that allegations of misconduct will be robustly investigated and that officers will be held to account, all of which contributes positively to public confidence in policing.”

After the Police Ombudsman investigation was concluded, a file detailing the offensive messages was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS). The PPS then submitted a misconduct file to the PSNI Professional Standards Department.

The Chief Constable held a special hearing on the misconduct file, after which the PSNI officer was dismissed over the hateful messages. The officer was found in breach of several articles of the PSNI Code of Ethics, including one stating that “whether on or off duty, police officers shall not behave in a way that is likely to bring discredit upon the Police Service”.

He was also found to have violated the police force’s commitment to integrity, which requires officers to “avoid all forms of behaviour that may reasonably be perceived to be abuse, harassment, bullying or victimisation”.

Eight other officers who received the communications but failed to report or challenge them were also referred to PSNI over potential breaches of its Code of Ethics.