Police chief sacked for rejecting ‘nonsense' racism claims launches legal battle
The head of the West Midlands Police Federation is taking legal action after he was removed from office for rejecting claims racism was widespread among his colleagues.
Richard Cooke, who was elected to represent 7,000 rank and file officers in the country's second largest police force, was suspended and banned from standing in recent elections following comments he made on the X social media platform.
Responding to claims made in a Channel 4 news report that racism and misogyny were widespread in West Midlands Police, Mr Cooke wrote: '....I don't recognise these attitudes. They do not represent us – we are an anti-racist organisation'.
In a second tweet, he dismissed suggestions that the force had done nothing to tackle racism, writing: 'Nonsense – and so was the report but these reporters rarely bother checking their sources.'
Following the remarks, which were made in December, Mr Cooke was suspended by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) from his position as branch chairman pending an investigation.
Bosses at the police union claimed his comments risked 'alienating those of our members who might be victims of discriminatory treatment -effectively leaving them with nowhere to turn for support and representation''.
A 'witch hunt'
It is understood the suspension came after the two officers who had featured in the original Channel 4 News report lodged a complaint.
Mr Cooke lodged an appeal against his suspension but that was dismissed at a hearing in March he was not invited to attend.
He was also banned from standing for election for three years meaning he was not on the recent ballot papers and so has now been replaced as branch chairman.
With the support of the Free Speech Union he is challenging the process in the courts and is looking to join forces with Rick Prior, the former chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, who was sacked in similar circumstances for comments he made in the media.
Mr Cooke, who has been elected as branch chairman in three separate elections since 2018, said he had been the victim of a 'witch hunt'.
'Deeply sinister'
He told the Telegraph: 'I have been removed from office for speaking out in defence of my members and for reflecting their views, which is what I was elected to do.
'The media report wrongly suggested that racism and misogyny were widespread in West Midlands Police. I challenged that because I do not recognise that and it is unfair to the vast majority of my colleagues.
'I did not suggest that racism and misogyny do not exist within the force but to shut me down for stating my views is deeply sinister.
'This is a witch hunt. My reputation has been unfairly traduced and I have been removed from an elected post and banned from standing for office for speaking bluntly. There is clearly a political agenda at play here.'
Lord Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, agreed: 'Twenty-five years ago, a Police Federation Chair would have been suspended for disparaging his fellow officers. Today, you get suspended for defending them. We're through the looking glass.'
Mr Cooke is crowdsourcing to fund a legal claim against the PFEW and is hoping to join Mr Prior's judicial review which is currently pending.
'A striking crisis of confidence'
Mr Prior was suspended and eventually sacked from his democratically elected post representing 30,000 Met officers after giving an interview in which he suggested his colleagues were worried about using force for fear of being labelled racist.
In an interview with GB News, Mr Prior said: 'There's a striking crisis of confidence at the moment within policing in general, and certainly within the Met police, whereby officers are withdrawing from any kind of proactive policing for fear of falling foul of the IOPC [Independent Office of Police Conduct] or a vexatious or malicious complaint.'
The day after his comments were broadcast, he was suspended by the PFEW for allegedly making comments that were 'discriminatory in nature'.
He was also barred from standing for re-election but launched legal action to challenge the suspension.
However after giving an interview to the Telegraph about his situation, he was immediately dismissed for breaching the terms of his suspension.
Both he and Mr Cooke have now returned to frontline police roles with their own forces.
A PFEW spokesman said: 'Richard Cooke was removed from his role as Chair of the West Midlands Federation branch following an extensive process, which included an appeal.
'He was investigated following complaints from members about comments on social media which were judged by a panel of his peers to have been in breach of the Federation's standards.
'Our processes, which are set in statute, were followed rigorously and applied fairly at all times. Richard Cooke remains a serving police officer with the West Midlands Force.'
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