Two Bedfordshire police officers, Christopher Thomas and Christopher Pitts, have been sacked after they were found guilty of gross misconduct over the way they dealt with a man who has autism.

The disciplinary panel heard the astonishing evidence that officers had laughed at the victim, Mr Ali, as they chased him near his street in a police car. It was also mentioned that the officers chased Mr Ali for their own amusement rather than any legitimate policing reason.

In a previous trial, the officers were cleared of any misconduct, however, Leicestershire Police, who investigated the matter for the IPCC, found that they had a case to answer and now they have both been found to have breached standards of professional conduct.

Thomas was found to have breached four standards, with Pitts breaching three. The standards that were breached include honesty and integrity, authority respect and courtesy, and discreditable conduct. Thomas was also found to have breached equality and diversity standards in relation to Mr Ali’s disability.

Bedfordshire Police’s Deputy Chief Constable apologised to Mr Ali on behalf of the force. He said:

“The two officer’s conduct has fallen well below any standard that is acceptable in policing and they have now paid the ultimate sanction in losing their jobs. This should send a clear message to police officers, that this type of behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Following a criminal trial in December 2014, both officers were found not guilty of misconduct in a public office, while PC Thomas was also cleared of racially aggravated assault over the incident.

However, on March 29th the pair appeared before a police misconduct hearing in Wyboston over their conduct and were dismissed.

We are currently involved in looking after several clients with autism who allege that the Police have failed to understand the nature of their condition and to act with appropriate care and concerns.

At Broudie Jackson Canter we passionately believe that police officers must always be held accountable for abusing their powers. We have an expert team of solicitors who can assist you with your police complaint.

If you require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our Actions Against the Police team. Please click here for a call back or message us your enquiry. We are happy to help.