A South Yorkshire Police officer who retained ‘racist, transphobic and ableist’ memes on his phone would have been sacked had he not resigned, a misconduct panel has found.

Police Constable Lee Holt, who was a serving South Yorkshire Police officer at the time of the alleged conduct, was accused of retaining images and ‘memes’.

During an accelerated misconduct hearing held on Friday, July 5, 2024, Mr Holt was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

A South Yorkshire Police officer who retained ‘racist, transphobic and ableist’ memes on his phone would have been sacked had he not resigned, a misconduct panel has found | Mix

Announcing the conclusions reached by the misconduct panel, a document published by the force states: “This conduct breaches the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to equality & diversity, authority, respect & courtesy and discreditable conduct and amount to gross misconduct.

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“The panel found that the officer in respect of the above allegation, and that the breach amounted to gross misconduct.

“The outcome of the hearing was that the former officer would have been dismissed without notice, had he not already resigned.”

South Yorkshire Police’s guidance on misconduct hearings state that they should be heard by a panel of three people that should be chaired by an independent legally qualified person chosen from a pool held by the local policing body.

The other panel members should be an ‘officer of at least the rank of Superintendent and an independent lay person, selected from an approved list held by the local policing body’.

Gross misconduct proven for South Yorkshire Police officer who had 'transphobic and racist' memes on phone

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