Nuke cop banned for life after racist WhatApp group chat with five other police officers emerges

A former Avon and Somerset Police officer has been slapped with a ban from policing after gross misconduct for sending racist messages in a . Benjamin Kirk, who was a part of the 'Band of Brothers' chat with five other Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) officers, engaged in sharing derogatory, racist, and pornographic content.

Having transferred to from CNC as a student officer in October 2020, he was found guilty of firing off distasteful racist messages and not challenging or reporting his colleagues' inappropriate behaviour during an August misconduct hearing.

The panel judged that former cop Kirk had fallen below professional policing standards, which demand Authority, Respect, and Courtesy, alongside failing in the areas of Challenging and Reporting Improper Behaviour, Equality and Diversity, and Conduct. Kirk was put on administrative leave in October 2022 and resigned, but would have faced dismissal regardless.

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Now, he faces a lifetime ban from returning to any police work, reports . Following the hearing, Avon and Somerset Police Deputy Chief Constable Jon Reilly didn't mince his words

He said: "This former officer posted and failed to challenge a series of abhorrent and grossly offensive messages. The public will be rightly horrified by his behaviour, and we welcome the panel's decision, which will prevent Benjamin Kirk from ever holding a role in policing again.

"There must be no space for these appalling views to fester and it's a priority for us to ensure those who send or engage in these conversations, whether on or off-duty, understand they have no place with us. There are substantial consequences for the abuse of social media platforms, including , with officers or staff who misuse them facing dismissal and in some cases, even a criminal court.

"We're continuing to urge all our officers and staff to be upstanders and not bystanders, and that means calling out all forms of discrimination whenever it's seen or heard, and there are confidential reporting systems in place to allow them to do this. We have a shared responsibility to restore the public's trust and confidence in policing and bring the focus back on the everyday courage and dedication shown by the many."

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The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) carried out an investigation into the behaviour demonstrated in the WhatsApp group, which was discovered as part of an unrelated investigation. Over 1,400 messages sent between June 2020 and February 2021 were analysed by investigators.

More than 100 of these made reference to protected characteristics, including race, gender, religion and disability. Examples of messages include:

• Messages that were derogatory/demeaning/objectifying towards women, including one which used vulgar slang for female genitalia to refer to a group of women at the beach
• Racist messages, including a video of an Arabic male parachuting edited to infer he was responsible for a factory being blown up, and comments comparing the humane killing of an animal by PC Benjamin Kirk with the death of George Floyd, a black man murdered by an American police officer
• Hundreds of pornographic messages
• Messages containing graphic/offensive content, including a number featuring videos or images believed to show the wreckage of a helicopter crash and an industrial incident, where a man was pulled into a machine

The CNC misconduct hearing this week concluded with damning results: former PCs Adam Rothery, Andrew Smith, Fraser Dove, Ryan Hancock and Stephen Moss were proven guilty of gross misconduct and would have been sacked had they not already left the force. Benjamin Kirk's case was handled by Avon and Somerset Police back in August.

Another officer skirted disciplinary action by quitting the CNC before their actions were brought to light. In a strong statement, IOPC Regional Director Catherine Bates condemned the conduct, saying: "Messages like the ones shared in this group have absolutely no place in civilised society. The appalling judgement shown by these officers, in sharing and failing to challenge such messages, is complete betrayal of the trust placed in the police by the public.

"But to stamp out this sort of behaviour fully, colleagues must be able to feel confident in calling it out, knowing they will be supported and action taken. We know this issue is not limited to any single force and leaders across policing must continue to work towards a culture of zero tolerance for these kinds of attitudes. Investigations like this one are an important step in the right direction."