Met sergeant sacked for saying detainee 'deserves to be beaten up'
Sergeant Lawrence Hume is the sixth Met officer to lose his job following an undercover investigation
A Metropolitan Police sergeant has been sacked after he was filmed saying a detainee "deserves to be beaten up."
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Sergeant Lawrence Hume also called the man a "pr***" which was caught on camera in a probe as part of a BBC Panorama documentary.
Speaking to an undercover journalist, he said of the detainee: "I wanted to say he’s a pr***, he deserves to be beaten up, but yeah, it's all recorded."
An investigation was opened by the force and Sergeant Hume was put in front of a misconduct tribunal in south London on Friday, where he was sacked.
He has become the sixth police officer to lose his job following the investigation.
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In the six-minute clip, which was played to the panel several times, Sergeant Hume goes on to say of the same detainee "charge him, send him to prison, throw away the key."
He then adds: "Don't care, deserves to be beaten up don't he."
The footage then shows the undercover journalist recalling an exchange he had with Sergeant Joe McIlvenny regarding the use of force on a separate detainee.
The journalist says he told Sergeant McIlvenny he had witnessed him giving a “little dig” to the individual and that the sergeant had warned him to “be careful” as there were cameras in the custody suite, to which Sergeant Hume replies, "yeah, you have to watch out mate."
Panel chairman Commander Jason Prins found Sergeant Humes's behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and he was dismissed without notice.
Mr Prins said the sergeant was "unable to provide a satisfying answer" as to why he had said a detainee deserved to be "beaten up."
Cecily White, for the appropriate authority, told the panel that even if the comments had not been broadcast, they were capable of damaging public confidence in the force.
Giving evidence, Sergeant Hume, who was based at Charing Cross police station, said of the footage: "I was just, I think, frustrated from the non-compliant detainee we just dealt with who tried to spit at one of my colleagues.
"I would never say that if the public could see that at all.
"He's just tried to assault one of my colleagues. I would no way endorse a detainee to be beaten up.'
An allegation that Sergeant Hume's comments indicated a clear intention to minimise and not record levels of force used in custody was found not proven.
A further allegation that, after being informed of Sergeant McIlvenny's, remarks, he failed to challenge or report this was also found not proven.
Last month, Sergeant Clayton Robinson, Pc Jason Sinclair-Birt, Pc Philip Neilson, Pc Martin Borg and Sergeant McIlvenny were dismissed without notice in separate hearings after it was found they had committed gross misconduct.