By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
A Nottinghamshire police officer made racist comments towards Asian colleagues and described women as “meat”, a misconduct panel heard.
Former PC Daniel Bell, 28, resigned after the allegations came to light – but a Notts Police disciplinary hearing into what happened went ahead this week.
At its conclusion on Thursday (December 21), panel Chair David Tyme concluded Bell would have been dismissed without notice had he still worked for the force.
The proceedings had earlier been told he mimicked a Pakistani accent in front of an Asian colleague and used “very offensive” Asian terms.
After the hearing, held in public at force headquarters in Arnold, Nottinghamshire Police said it follows “stringent vetting processes and procedures”.
A senior officer also said the fact officers had spoken against Bell shows the force has a culture where racism and misogyny is not tolerated.
Bell joined the force in March 2021 as a response officer based in West Bridgford.
An officer told their sergeant in October 2022 that Bell had made offensive comments towards them.
In an interview in January 2023, Bell denied all the claims and said the witnesses were lying. He also placed blame on the “shift culture” at the station.
He later resigned from the force in June, but the misconduct proceedings against him continued.
On December 19, the day before the hearing, Bell admitted to four of the allegations but denied a fifth, which the panel opted not to pursue following the admissions.
Bell did not attend the proceedings.
Liz Briggs, for Nottinghamshire Police, said the officer “deliberately targeted officers on the basis of their race”.
The panel heard that on October 29 2022, a police officer was travelling back to the station with Bell in a police vehicle.
The officer had his window down as they passed a hand car wash on Radford Road in Nottingham.
“The officer (Bell) looked to the right where an Asian male was stood and said words to the effect of ‘look, there’s your uncle’, Ms Briggs said.
Bell also “mimicked a Pakistani accent”.
When he was challenged, Bell said he was “only joking”.
Bell said another Asian officer was a “s*** officer”, “could not speak English” and was “embarrassing to Nottinghamshire Police”.
Both officers felt Mr Bell was “mocking their culture”.
The panel heard he also said “a very offensive word” to the two Asian officers in their language.
In a statement, a sergeant said they “don’t feel like the officer was racist” and “did not consider him to be so”.
The panel also heard Bell “referred to women as meat” and told other colleagues to “suck my big fat ****”.
Other officers reported Bell saying “I will chuck one in her” and “throw one up her”.
When challenged, the panel heard Bell responded: “F*** off you bunch of c****”.
Ms Briggs added: “There has been, and remains, national concern about how the police treat those with protected characteristics.
“It cannot be underestimated how such misconduct would adversely impact the relationship between the police force and the public.”
Insp Simon Riley, of the Police Federation, which represents officers, said: “His six months of reflection post-resignation have led him to the conclusion that his behaviour was absolutely not of the standards required of a police officer.
“He has asked me to express his remorse for his actions for the offence caused and that a full and frank apology be recorded.
“There is some evidence of remorse, reflection and insight as provided within the amended plea, albeit it is accepted that this came late in the day.
“It is also accepted that the reflection and insight is limited in scope.
“The officer was very young in service and whilst this does not excuse his behaviour, what has become apparent is the culture which had been allowed to fester on that team, and the lack of effective and ethical leadership is a determinate factor in the former officer’s conduct.”
Concluding, David Tyme, legally qualified chair, said there was an absence of “any genuine remorse or insight for his conduct”.
He said: “In all the circumstances, the panel concluded that the proven conduct amounted to gross misconduct and determined that had the former officer remained in service, the appropriate outcome would have been dismissal without notice.”
Speaking after the hearing, Superintendent Andrew Reynolds, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said the force encourages all staff and officers to call out racism, misogyny and unprofessional behaviour.
He said: “This is exactly what happened in this case, with several members of this officer’s own team taking positive action by challenging and reporting his behaviour. This shows that far from there being a culture of racism and misogyny, there is in fact a culture where these views are not accepted and are dealt with robustly.
“We expect the highest standards of professional conduct from all officers and staff and, as we have repeatedly shown, behaviour of this nature will never be tolerated.”
He added the force will “continue to investigate any reports of inappropriate behaviour”.
