A former police officer who posted an “offensive and derogatory” video about women on social media has been found to have committed gross misconduct.
Northamptonshire Police said that if Sgt Aaron Parry had not already resigned, he would have been dismissed without notice.
A disciplinary hearing held at the force’s headquarters on Friday said the video demonstrated “a lack of respect and courtesy towards females” and was a breach of policy.
In a written statement, Mr Parry said he accepted the allegations but denied that his actions breached professional behaviour standards or amounted to misconduct.
He had resigned during an investigation and did not attend the hearing.
It was alleged that he had posted videos on his personal TikTok and Instagram accounts on 6 March, which showed him ridiculing women’s hygiene using a “highly offensive trope”.
Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet, who oversaw the hearing, said: “I find that the content of these posts was inappropriate, offensive, discriminatory and derogatory.”
He added: “What especially concerns me is that confidence of women and girls in policing has never been so low and we as a force are trying to rebuild that confidence.
“I find that the former officer’s behaviour was completely inappropriate and incompatible with being a police officer, let alone a supervisor in this organisation.
“No other outcome than dismissal would be adequate to uphold public confidence in policing and maintain the high standards that I expect of officers of Northamptonshire Police.”
Northamptonshire Police said the “vast majority” of its staff “uphold these high standards”.
“However, we know there are some who continue to let the public, the service and their colleagues down, and we remain as determined as ever to hold to account those whose conduct and integrity falls short of the standards expected.”
