Final warning for Pc who told black man 'you'd be the first one I'd shoot'

The Pc was filmed on a mobile phone mocking Black Lives Matter and making the comments to Jack Chambers, who was visiting a flat the officer was searching in August last year.

He was recorded saying to Mr Chambers: “Are you going to go Black Lives Matter on us are you?” before telling him: “You would be the first one I’d shoot if I had a gun, definitely.”

After a complaint was made, the force referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) which investigated the conduct of the officers at the search.

The officer in question was taken off frontline duties while the investigation took place.

The probe included reviewing footage from the incident, taking statements from witnesses and interviewing the officers who were there.

Inspectors found that the Pc who made the remarks had a case to answer for misconduct and West Midlands Police agreed.

At a misconduct meeting held by the force on June 8 the case was proven and the officer given a final written warning.

The officer told the IOPC investigator that he regretted making the comments and, while he accepted they had been unprofessional and clumsy, he had not meant them to be racist, offensive or threatening.

Another Pc was dealt with for misconduct for not challenging the comments made by his colleague.

IOPC Regional Director Commissioner Derrick Campbell said: "We are conscious of the impact on public confidence in policing such an incident can have.

"The remarks made were inappropriate and the officer who made them has been sanctioned accordingly after the force agreed with the findings of our investigation."

The IOPC found no case to answer for two other officers as there was no evidence that that they had heard the comments.

It was agreed that one of them, an acting sergeant, required performance measures over not correctly logging the search of the property.

The search took place in Coventry on August 24 last year.