'Misogynistic' officer's vile comments over rape

SERGEANT ALSO MADE SUGGESTIVE WORDS TO FEMALE COLLEAGUES

- ANNABAL BAGDI News Reporter

A ‘MISOGYNISTIC’ police sergeant joked about rape and made vile comments towards female colleagues, a West Midlands Police misconduct hearing has been told.

David Basterfield made sexual comments about junior officers, researched new starters on social media and commented on how they dressed.

The ‘over sharer’ discussed his sex life in the office, shared a picture of a colleague in her underwear and ‘propositioned’ another, asking “what would it take for you to forget about your morals?”

He made ‘inappropriate comments’ about female victims who he believed were ‘not behaving appropriately and therefore deserving of assaults’

Officers were left feeling ‘intimidated’ and ‘stressed, with some confessing they tried to move departments so they could get away from him.

Basterfield was found to have breached policing standards of professional behaviour, with a panel finding that his actions amounted to gross misconduct.

Basterfield, who resigned in March 2024, did not attend the hearing and was not legally represented.