Eight police officers suspended over ‘deeply worrying’ racism allegations

Eight Greater Manchester Police officers have been suspended for alleged racial discrimination.

Another officer has been given restricted duties and police have contacted the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), police said today.

The details of the allegation were not made public, but the reports were described by GMP as “deeply worrying”.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Allen, Head of Professional Standards, said: “I hope to reassure the community of Bury, the wider public and GMP staff that these matters will be fully and thoroughly investigated.”

All but one of the suspended officers are from Bury borough. The other is from Rochdale but was working there at the time of the allegations.

These are not the first suspensions to rock the district this month and have prompted GMP to temporarily redeploy officers to take over duty there.

Earlier this month, police suspended five officers and imposed duty restrictions on two on July 17.

On 4 July, it again referred the case to the IOPC, and the following day the regulator launched an investigation.

In this case, the IOPC alleges that officers “engaged in frank conversations and either used abusive language or failed to take action against it.”

Regional Director Catherine Bates said: “This type of behaviour has the potential to undermine public confidence in policing. In addition, it has an impact on officers who behave with integrity.”

“We will conduct a thorough investigation to secure the evidence and ensure that any discriminatory behavior is appropriately punished.”

“This does not necessarily mean that a Code of Conduct violation or criminal charge will follow, and the status of all officers will be reviewed throughout the investigation.”

Greater Manchester Police are already under surveillance following an unrelated incident at Manchester Airport on Tuesday last week.

Footage of the incident shows a police officer kicking a man in the face and then stomping on his head as he lies on the ground after using a Taser.

An officer has been suspended from duty and is being investigated for possible assault after GMP referred the matter to the IOPC.

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