Met PC denies calling colleagues ‘cotton-pickers’.
A Metropolitan Police officer has denied calling black cops “cotton-pickers”.
A disciplinary hearing heard that PC Mia Korell, a black officer, used the language when she ran into Insp Alistair Phillips while both were off duty in Guildford on October 7, 2022. Chloe Hill, an attorney representing the Met Police, claimed the term was “grossly offensive and derogatory” during the hearing in central London on Monday. PC Korell denied saying the phrases, telling the court that “it is not a term you hear often in conversation, it is not part of my vernacular.”
‘I am 100% sure’
According to the misconduct panel, the couple had a broader chat before discussing racism in policing. PC Korell used the phrase to characterise black officers who did not feel the Territorial Support Group (TSG) was racist, according to the misconduct hearing. Insp Phillips claimed that she asked him if he thought the TSG, which both officers were members of at the time, was racist, to which he responded that he did not. “The conversation was fairly clear,” Inspector Phillips told the panel. “I do not believe there was any misunderstanding. I am 100% certain that was the exact term spoken. “It is a very bizarre phrase to make up, and I have very little to gain from making a story up.”
The hearing was told Insp Phillips emailed PC Korell’s line manager to report her language on 17 October 2022.
Could amount to gross misconduct
PC Korell, who is pursuing a PhD titled On the Experiences of Black Police Officers, told the panel she met Insp Phillips after a hard day of studying at the University of Surrey. “I was anxious to get home, and I was very uncomfortable,” said PC Korell, who was facing another misconduct hearing at the time of the talk. “I was under investigation at the time, I didn’t particularly want to see anyone from work, also I was very pregnant so standing up for a long time is not good.” The officer denied starting the topic regarding racism in the TSG.
“Unfortunately, I have never come across a black officer at the TSG who has said there are no issues with race and it is not racist,” she told the courtroom. If the panel deems the claim true, it may constitute grave misconduct and justify her dismissal, according to the Met Police.
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