Police officer sacked for homophobia, racism and sexual assault
PC Joseph Gritt was dismissed earlier this week.
A Thames Valley Police officer has been sacked following a public misconduct hearing into his behaviour while off duty.
During the hearing, Gritt admitted breaching the standards of duty expected of him during a series of incidents earlier this year.
While off-duty in Ascot, he sexually assaulted three lesbian women – physically assaulted one of them.
During the attack, Gritt also hurled homophobic abuse his victims and made racist remarks.
Deputy Chief Constable John Campbell deemed the disgraced police constable’s behaviour “completely unacceptable”.
“PC Gritt’s actions fell way short of the behaviour expected from a serving police officer,” he said.
“All reports of misconduct are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly.
“This behaviour is completely unacceptable within our Force,” he added.
“PC Gritt has shown complete disregard for the standards expected of him and there is no place in the force for those who behave in this way.”
Campbell went on to praise the victims of the attack for being brave enough to come forward.
“Despite what must have been traumatic experiences for the victims I would like to commend them for challenging the behaviour and for supporting the case.”
However, despite the victim’s testimonies, the Crown Prosecution Service found there was insufficient evidence for there to be a “realistic prospect of conviction”.
This means that the recently unemployed Gritt will not be prosecuted for his actions.
Last month, another police officer was dismissed after sending “abhorrent” texts which were racist and homophobic.
Essex-based PC Jonathan Williams was found to be in breach of professional standards today, in a case hearing at Harlow County Court.
The 29-year-old officer, from Southend, had been a police officer with the force for eight years.
In October, the Home Office released its annual report on hate crime across England and Wales, which tracks the levels of various types of crimes.
There were 5,597 reports of hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation in the past year, accounting for 11% of the total, as well as 605 reports of transgender hate crimes.
This constitutes a 22% rise year-on-year for homophobic hate crime – though the Home Office notes that this may be partly due to improved reporting techniques.
