A policeman who tweeted abuse about celebrities has been found guilty of misconduct and sacked.
PC Graham Wise sent the tweets from the canteen of Cleveland Police’s headquarters while he was on breaks, a disciplinary panel heard.
Actress Daniella Westbrook, reality star Gemma Collins and tennis player Nick Kyrgios all came under fire.
He also called for an estate from the TV show Benefits Street to be bulldozed with “people still inside it”.
The officer had previously worked in Stockton, Teesside, and policed the estate in the town where the programme was filmed.
The disciplinary hearing at the force’s headquarters in Middlesbrough was told he tweeted the local Gazette newspaper about the programme and said: “Bulldoze it, preferably with the majority of people still inside it.”
Wise also described former EastEnders star Westbrook as a “washed up cokehead with one nostril” and made abuse remarks about TV star Gemma Collins and tennis player Nick Kyrgios.
‘Absolutely stupid’
The hearing was told PC Wise thought only his 170 followers – made up of family and friends – could see his tweets.
An investigation was launched after an email, possibly sent from someone using a pseudonym, accused him of sending tweets of an abusive, sexist or derogatory nature to sports personalities, TV stars and victims of crime.
He told officers he had been “absolutely stupid”.
PC Wise was also accused of accessing the force intelligence system to look up information on criminals, some of whom he went to school with, without justification.
He told investigators he was a “nosy policeman” and wanted to bring himself up to date after a period off work with illness.
The hearing was told he had mental health issues and was undergoing treatment.
At the time of the investigation, PC Wise was dealing with calls from the public and assessing whether they warranted uniformed officers to attend.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-37088044
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