A former Gwent Police officer who sent racist and homophobic text messages would have been dismissed had he not already resigned, a misconduct hearing has found.
Michael Hill, a former constable, resigned on the morning of his accelerated misconduct hearing on Friday. The panel determined he would have been immediately dismissed over his behaviour had he not already left the force.
Messages sent while serving
While a serving officer, Hill sent multiple text messages to the same person, referred to during the hearing as Person A. The allegations against him at Gwent Police spanned January 2024 to September 2024.
On January 19, 2024, Hill sent a WhatsApp message making comments about another person and referring to arresting them for malicious communications. After requesting their address from Person A, he wrote: “Without my body cam on so I could beat him first.”
On February 14, 2024, he sent another WhatsApp message referring to being at a property with a decomposing body and included a photo of the front door. On September 7, 2024, he sent footage of a police incident recorded from a body worn video camera, showing an officer forcing entry to a property, with the message: “He chased his neighbour with a knife then held a razor to his throat and wouldn't let us in. So I put his door in.”
Further derogatory messages
Other allegations, from when Hill was not a serving Gwent Police officer, included a February 1, 2023 message referring to a security guard with the words “retard” and “mong.” On February 14, 2023, he disclosed a pre-planned arrest for a suspect in an armed robbery and potential firearms matter. When Person A asked, “Am I allowed to know that?”, Hill replied: “Not really.”
On March 20, 2023, he sent an image of a police report with a homophobic message: “The best one I’ve seen was two men bumming the life out of each other on a bus. Shall I citizen's arrest these poo pirates?” On April 21, 2023, he sent a message referring to a Rightmove property link with the words: “Probably stinks of curry on that street.” On April 26, 2023, he sent another message about a property, writing: “Probably owned by some Asian bloke. They eat dogs,” followed by “F**k them.”
Panel findings and consequences
Hill admitted the “appalling and inappropriate” messages. Assistant chief constable John Wade, who chaired the hearing, said: “The nature of what is contained within these messages is a severe departure from how the public would expect a serving police officer to communicate with another person.”
All 19 allegations were found proven. Some pre-dated his time with Gwent Police, but it was agreed the force would oversee the misconduct process. Hill did not attend the hearing in Cwmbran on Friday.
The investigation, led by the professional standards department, referred Hill for alleged breaches of standards under “authority, respect and courtesy, equality and diversity, and discreditable conduct.”
Wade added: “Our communities rightfully expects their officers to conduct themselves in a proper way whether on or off duty and this former officer has failed in that regard. Although many of the 19 allegations pre-date his time serving with Gwent Police, we agreed with his former service to take on the misconduct process and deal with him. This ensures that someone who has proved themselves to be incompatible with the duties and responsibilities of a police officer is prevented from returning to policing.”
The former officer was immediately dismissed in his absence without notice and will be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.
