LONDON: An Indian-origin policewoman in the UK has been found guilty of gross misconduct for fabricating a story about workplace transphobia during an appraisal interview for promotion.
Sergeant Sarah Srivastava lied about colleagues discriminating against a transgender officer and how she took steps to challenge their behaviour, the News Times UK reported. Srivastava was slammed for bringing “discredit to the police service” and undermining “public confidence” in the force by the West Midlands Police’s attorney during the misconduct hearing.
“I am sorry for lying, it was stupid. I’m caught up in the moment,” she was quoted as saying by News Times UK. The disciplinary panel noted that Srivastava had “violated three standards of professional conduct and was guilty of serious misconduct”.
She was given a final written warning after the hearing. According to the report, Srivastava expected to be promoted to Serious Organized Crime Unit after 27 years of service.
The interviewer asked her for an example of “how you consider a range of values and needs when making a decision that affects a group”. Srivastava then claimed she had challenged a colleague, who made a transphobic comment to an officer and then got them to apologise for it. However, her lie was caught when the interviewer, a detective inspector, came to her workplace and insisted on speaking directly to the transgender officer.
Terrified of being exposed, Srivastava told the detective that she had “prettified” the story during the interview.
But after further questioning, she finally admitted to cooking-up the whole story.
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