Katie Price has spoken out after eight serving and former Metropolitan Police officers were found guilty of ‘gross misconduct’ over ‘discriminatory and offensive’ messages they shared, including some which made fun of her disabled son.
The officers – seven men and one woman – were found to have sent sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, and ableist comments in a WhatsApp group called ‘Secret Squirrel S**t’ between May 17, 2016 and June 26, 2018.
Legal chairman Christopher McKay described gross misconduct as a ‘breach of the standards of professional behaviour that is so serious as to justify dismissal’, during the fifth day of the hearing at Palestra House in Southwark, central London, on Thursday (April 13).
He found each former and serving officer to have committed gross misconduct over their own messages, as well as by ‘failing to challenge or report’ the conduct of others in the group.
The hearing concerned former sergeant Luke Thomas, former acting sergeant Luke Allen, former Pc Kelsey Buchan, former Pc Carlo Francisco, former Pc Lee South, former Pc Darren Jenner, Pc Glynn Rees, and Officer B, who has been granted anonymity.
Addressing the case for the first time since the ruling, former glamour model Katie sat down with her son Harvey on 5 News.
Harvey, 20, is Katie’s eldest child and has Prader-Willi syndrome – a genetic condition resulting in obesity – and Septo-Optic Dysplasia which affects sight and the development of the brain.
The mum-of-five said she is ‘absolutely over the moon,’ with the verdict.
‘It’s about time justice has been done,’ she said.
‘Not only that they are professionals that we trust, that we should trust who have done this… and now an example is going to be put out there and something is going to be done.’
She added: ‘What I’ve actually seen and read what these police officers have said it’s beyond like beyond what you could ever imagine how evil and how spiteful people can actually be, and how they even think it’s funny. It’s actually disgusting… Harvey doesn’t deserve this, no one does.’
When asked by Katie how it made him feel when people were horrible to him, Harvey said: ‘Angry and sad.’
During the interview, Katie also said she hopes the police officers ‘feel ashamed’ and are ’embarrassed’.
‘I hope they’re embarrassed to know what their family are going through and I hope… all their names and their mug shots come out because I would like to see their faces and they should be named and shamed.’
The reality star also hopes they will ‘never serve’ as officers again.
‘And if they ever get any other job that it goes on their CV because I’ll tell you what, there won’t be a lot of people who want to employ them after this. Would you want to employ someone when you know they do stuff like this? Because I know I wouldn’t. So it will affect them for the rest of their life. And I hope it does because they deserve that, they’re disgusting.’
Prior to the verdict, Katie also spoke out about the messages and said: ‘These are the people who are supposed to be protecting us, people we are supposed to trust.
‘It’s pure betrayal, I was in shock at first, then I felt sick, heartbroken and angry.
‘It’s not enough for these people to just lose their jobs if found guilty, if this has happened to a vulnerable adult like Harvey, it will be happening to others.’
She added to The Sunday Mirror: ‘I can stick up for myself. When it comes to my son, it’s different.
‘Harvey is so vulnerable, so innocent. He doesn’t have a bad bone in his body – all he wants is to love people and be happy. He doesn’t deserve this from anyone.’
The star also admitted at the time that her other children – whom she shares with Peter Andre – Junior, 17, and Princess, 15, are also ‘furious’ about it and had been asked about it in school.
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