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A West Midlands Police constable has been sacked after a disciplinary panel found that he had filmed several videos while on duty ridiculing a vulnerable woman, and shared them via the Snapchat messaging app.

PC Neil Tong was dismissed recently (Thursday 25 October) without notice at the end of a three-day hearing held by the force, which followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

An independent disciplinary panel found that PC Tong had breached professional standards relating to respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities, and discreditable conduct.

The panel heard that PC Tong used his personal mobile to film several clips of a vulnerable woman during two visits to her home in Walsall. These were of a derogatory nature and some showed objects being thrown at her. Some of the clips were annotated with a ‘crying with laughter’ emoji and sent in Snapchat messages to a member of the public and a colleague.

IOPC West Midlands Regional Director Derrick Campbell recently said:

“Police officers are trusted to uphold professional standards of behaviour, especially when they come into contact with people who are deemed vulnerable.

“The degrading manner in which PC Tong mocked and otherwise treated the woman concerned was disgraceful and a clear abuse of his position of trust. Our investigation concluded that PC Tong had a case to answer for gross misconduct.  The force agreed and arranged for the officer to appear before an independent disciplinary panel which concluded that his actions did amount to gross misconduct and that instant dismissal was the only option in these circumstances.”

Our investigation began in October 2016 when the video footage was discovered  after PC Tong’s mobile was seized in connection with a separate matter. It was completed in August 2017.