West Yorkshire Police officer dismissed over WhatsApp messages

A West Yorkshire Police (WYP) officer involved in a WhatsApp conversation where racist and misogynistic messages were shared has been dismissed without notice following a directed Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation.The investigation, carried out by WYP under our direction, looked at messages sent and received by PC Louis Hepplestone, who was based in Kirklees.We received a referral from the force after a separate directed IOPC investigation found evidence of concerning phone messages between PC Hepplestone and a colleague.As part of the separate investigation, messages were obtained from the phone of Detention Officer William Loyd-Hughes. He was sentenced earlier this year over offensive social media posts, including racist material. A disciplinary hearing subsequently found he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned.The messages obtained from the phone showed a WhatsApp conversation between Loyd-Hughes and PC Hepplestone, which began before they joined WYP.The evidence showed that even after becoming a police officer, PC Hepplestone failed to challenge offensive messages containing racists comments and a joke about rape. He also sent messages referring to female colleagues that were considered misogynistic.The messages also showed PC Hepplestone was aware of Loyd-Hughes’ racist views prior to him joining the force as a detention
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