A Met officer was today charged with a race-hate crime after being secretly recorded abusing a black man he had arrested.
Pc Alex MacFarlane will appear in court charged with a “racially aggravated public order offence” following the incident in east London in the wake of last summer’s riots.
The crime carries a maximum six-month jail sentence.
The decision, which comes after prosecutors initially decided against bringing charges, was announced today by London’s chief crown prosecutor, Alison Saunders.
She said that it was “regrettable” that the original decision not to charge Pc MacFarlane was wrong, but prosecutors now believed that there was sufficient evidence to secure a conviction after reviewing the case.
“I have taken the decision in this case that, as well as there being sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, and a prosecution being in the public interest, a prosecution is necessary in order to maintain confidence in the criminal justice system,” she said.
“It is regrettable that the original decision was wrong, but I hope the action taken and my decision today demonstrates the willingness of the Crown Prosecution Service to review its decisions independently and swiftly, and to take appropriate action where necessary.”
Pc MacFarlane is being charged under section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986 and section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Today’s decision follows an incident in Beckton when Mauro Demetrio, 21, was arrested over suspected driving offences following August’s unrest.
After a complaint, prosecutors initially decided not to bring charges, reportedly on the grounds that the language would not have caused Mr Demetrio “harassment, alarm or distress” — the test used for the public order offence for which the officer has now been charged.
Ms Saunders said that no charges would be brought over a separate allegation of “strangulation” made by Mr Demetrio because of inconsistencies in the various accounts of what happened.
Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe has vowed to drive racists out of the Met after a spate of allegations against his officers. They have led Scotland Yard to refer 10 cases involving 18 officers and one civilian worker to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Mr Hogan-Howe has pledged that police vans will be equipped with CCTV.
