A PLAYER for Warrington Wolves’ women’s team has been dismissed as a serving police officer for multiple uses of racist language.
Samantha Simpson made her 50th appearance for Wire over the weekend, but she was on the losing side as Warrington were beaten 36-0 in the Challenge Cup by St Helens.
But is has this week been confirmed that the former police constable has been struck off by the force in a report following an accelerated misconduct hearing.
It was alleged that the Wire outside back breached the standards of professional behaviour with the police, and that this amounted to gross misconduct between July 8, 2019, and January 24, 2022.
Evidence was given in the form of screenshots of messages she exchanged with her then-boyfriend during this period.
These showed she used the racist term ‘P**i’ on 13 occasions, both while on and off duty.
In one message sent on July 8, 2019, she said: “I don’t go to them garages cause they’ve got weird pervy P***s in them, like never have gone in there.”
Moreover, on May 21, 2020, she sent: “If we go to the place to pick up tea tonight, can we go the lil P**i shop, I’m really feeling some crisps like a big bag of em aha.”
The misconduct hearing report states that her conduct breached standards of behaviour of ‘authority, respect and courtesy’, as well as of ‘discreditable conduct’.
“Your persistent and repeated use of the derogatory term shows a demonstrable lack of respect and courtesy for those members of society who are of Pakistani heritage or indeed other Asian heritage,” it said, adding that use of the term as a police officer ‘brings the police service into disrepute’.
It was determined that her actions amounted to two counts of gross misconduct, with the report going on to say: “Trust and confidence in policing have been seriously impacted in recent years as a result of incidents that have occurred internationally, nationally, and indeed locally.
“As a result, the number one priority for policing has to be rebuilding that trust and confidence.
“The public, and most importantly the communities of Merseyside, have an expectation that they can have trust and confidence in their police force, and that the officers and staff will treat them with fairness, care, and compassion.
“Former police constable Simpson was attested into Merseyside Police on July 12, 2017 – during which she took an oath to accord equal respect to all people.
“The language that former constable Simpson has used in these messages is at odds with this oath and shows a complete lack of respect for members of our communities who are of Pakistan origin.”
The report by chief constable Serena Kennedy ends: “Eight of the occurrences in this case have happened since I have been chief constable.
“During my time in office, I have been very clear about my priority on inclusion, and my expectations of the members of Merseyside Police in relation to the way we treat each other and members of our community.
“I am satisfied that it will have been made clear to former constable Simpson that the language she has chosen to use is not acceptable and is in breach of the Police Conduct Regulations 2020, and is not in line with the code of ethics.
“It is my view that an officer who is prepared to use this language has no place in policing, and it would absolutely and quite rightly undermine the trust and confidence in Merseyside Police if they were to remain in Merseyside Police.
“I considered whether a final written warning is appropriate in this case, and for the reasons given above, I do not think that it is.
“My sanction in this case is immediate dismissal without notice.”
A spokesman for Warrington Wolves said: "Warrington Wolves is aware of today’s newspaper report regarding our women’s player Samantha Simpson.
"The club recognises the seriousness of this report and will be making further inquiries with the player.
"Samantha has been stood down from selection with immediate effect.
"The club will be making no further comment at this stage."
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