A Metropolitan Police sergeant has been fired after being secretly filmed stating that a detainee deserved to be physically assaulted.
Secret Footage Reveals Shocking Comments
The damning footage, which was aired in a BBC Panorama documentary, captured Sergeant Lawrence Hume using derogatory language and expressing violent sentiments. A misconduct hearing in south London was told that Sergeant Hume referred to a detainee as a 'p****' and said, 'he deserves to be beaten up'.
In a six-minute clip played to the panel multiple times, the sergeant was heard telling an undercover journalist, 'I wanted to say he's a p****, he deserves to be beaten up, but yeah, it's all recorded.' He further commented on the same individual, 'charge him, send him to prison, throw away the key', and reiterated, 'don't care, deserves to be beaten up don't he'.
Failure to Challenge Colleague's Conduct
The investigation also revealed an exchange where the undercover journalist recounted an incident with another officer, Sergeant Joe McIlvenny. The journalist stated he had witnessed Sergeant McIlvenny giving a 'little dig' to a separate detainee and that the sergeant had warned him to 'be careful' due to cameras in the custody suite. To this, Sergeant Hume replied, 'yeah, you have to watch out mate.'
Panel chairman Commander Jason Prins found that Sergeant Hume's behaviour constituted gross misconduct. Commander Prins stated the sergeant was 'unable to provide a satisfying answer' for his remarks and noted that the comments were made 'on two occasions unprompted' while Hume was in a leadership role responsible for detainee welfare.
Dismissal and Wider Fallout
As a result, Sergeant Lawrence Hume was dismissed without notice. The panel concluded that even if the comments had not been broadcast, they were capable of significantly damaging public confidence in the police force.
In his defence, Sergeant Hume, who was based at Charing Cross police station, claimed he was frustrated by a non-compliant detainee who had attempted to spit at a colleague. He stated, 'I would never say that if the public could see that at all' and 'I would no way endorse a detainee to be beaten up'.
However, two other allegations against him were found not proven:
- That his comments indicated an intention to minimise and not record levels of force used in custody.
- That he failed to challenge or report Sergeant McIlvenny's remarks after being informed of them.
Sergeant Hume is now the sixth police officer to be sacked following the BBC Panorama investigation, which involved secret filming at Charing Cross police station. Last month, five other officers, including Sergeant McIlvenny, were also dismissed without notice for gross misconduct.
