A black Metropolitan Police officer has won £25k for “race harassment” after his boss called him “menacing”.
An employment tribunal found that the comment made from PC Ashley-James Akajioyi’s line manager was “derived from the racial stereotype of black men behaving aggressively.”
It added that the use of the phrase was “unconsciously influenced” by his race and unjustified by his behaviour at a tense meeting.
One employment judge expressed surprise at Met officers not being able to recognise racial stereotypes when asked about them during a tribunal.
A black Met Police officer has won £25k for “race harassment” after his boss called him “menacing”
PC Akajioyi sued the Met Police after Sgt Chris Kerr, his manager, claimed he had been “stared down menacingly” by the constable during a meeting regarding poor work.
He was awarded £25,403.87 after winning his case for racial harassment, victimisation and disability discrimination.
Several other race-related claims were dismissed.
The central London tribunal heard that the constable, who joined the Met in 2015, was called into his manager's office five years later in regards to a form he had filled out containing errors.
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PC Akajioyi had previously been told in an email that he should have done a better job and it reflected badly on the whole team.
He replied saying he would not tolerate being portrayed in a “bad light” and needed to be “trained properly”.
During the meeting following the email exchange, Sgt Kerr reportedly told his colleague his 11-year-old son could have done a better job than him.
After the discussion, the PC described Sgt Kerr’s behaviour as “aggressive” and the interaction as "very heated".
Sgt Kerr replied by claiming Akajioyi had “stared menacingly” at him throughout the meeting.
The "dressing down" occurred at a time when Pc Akajioyi felt "ostracised" and became increasingly paranoid, believing his colleagues were "conspiring against him."
He specifically thought that one of his coworkers had been instructed to "monitor his movement" and was "watching him intently."
Shortly after the incident, the officer was signed off work for a year due to work-related stress.
Employment Judge Emma Burns said that it was “reasonable” the constable had been upset, adding that the comparison to the Sgt’s son was a “demeaning insult”
GETTYEmployment Judge Emma Burns said: “In the subsequent correspondence Sgt Kerr sent [Pc Akajioyi], we do consider that Sgt Kerr allowed himself to be influenced, most likely unconsciously, by [Pc Akajioyi’s] race.”
She claimed the comment was “not justified” because “we did not find that Pc Akajioyi stared at Sgt Kerr inappropriately or aggressively”.
“Instead, our factual finding was that he reacted very passively to what Ps Kerr was saying.”
She said that it was “reasonable” the constable had been upset, adding that the comparison to the Sgt’s son was a “demeaning insult”.
“We therefore find in his favour that the comment constituted race-related harassment as it had the effect of creating a hostile environment for [Pc Akajioyi].”
She added that the comparison to Sgt Kerr’s son was a “demeaning insult” but that overall the manager’s behaviour had not “overstepped boundaries”.
