A police officer who posted racist WhatsApp memes mocking the death of George Floyd has been jailed for 20 weeks.
James Watts was serving with West Mercia Police when he shared the “grossly offensive” material in a group chat, which included former colleagues at a Warwickshire prison.
The married father-of-one was charged following an inquiry by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into 10 memes posted in May and June 2020.
One of the memes featured a white dog wearing Ku Klux Klan clothing, and another displayed a kneeling mat with Mr Floyd’s face printed on it, Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard.
Other images made jokes about Mr Floyd’s death featuring pictures of George Of The Jungle and the children’s game Guess Who.
Watts, who worked as a police constable, accepted in interviews that the messages were racist in nature.
Another message, which was found after a Twitter user claimed a serving policeman had posted racist memes, mocked a line in the movie Jaws.
Mr Floyd was killed in May 2020 when a police officer knelt on his neck for around nine minutes, sparking protests around the world against racial injustice and police brutality.
Image: George Floyd’s death sparked protests against racial injustice and police brutality
Watts, from Birmingham, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to 10 counts of sending a grossly offensive or menacing message by a public communication network.
Jailing the 31-year-old defendant, deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram told him: “At the time of these offences, you were a police officer – a person to whom the public looks up to to uphold the law – but you did the opposite.
“You undermined the confidence the public has in the police.
“Your behaviour brings the criminal justice system as a whole into disrepute.
“You are there to protect the public and enforce the law, but what you did was the complete opposite.”
Image: Watts pleaded guilty to 10 charges
The IOPC announced in April this year that charges had been brought against Watts and Jinks under the Communications Act 2003.
Watts resigned from the force whilst the investigation was ongoing.
A misconduct hearing was held which ruled he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned, West Mercia Police said.
Watts has been added to the College of Policing’s barred list, banning him from any policing role across the country for life.
After sentencing, IOPC regional director Derrick Campbell said Watts’ actions had “caused significant reputational damage to policing”.
“The content of these messages will disturb many people both within and outside the police service,” he said.
“Today’s outcome must act as a stark reminder that this behaviour, particularly from a police officer, is unacceptable.
“It is important officers understand it is irrelevant whether such activity takes place on or off duty, or in a private or public social media network – the conduct is likely to face serious disciplinary or criminal consequences.”
