A detective has been dismissed for 25 counts of inappropriate behaviour relating to farting in her station and repeatedly swearing while on duty, after several complaints were received.
She admitted mimicking Borat or using a silly voice after she broke wind and saying ‘rather out than in’. She also farted outside her sergeant’s office and asked a colleague if he wanted an affair with a ‘fatter, ugly, older woman’. On one occasion she told a motorist ‘you’re driving like a c**t’ but told a hearing that the C-word had replaced the F-word as the swear word of choice. She apologised to the driver after a sergeant pulled her up for her language. Fitzpatrick also asked another officer if she had any thrush cream in front of colleagues, causing embarrassment.
Her defence that it was all part of a “culture of banter” in her village station was rejected and she was dismissed after 22 years of service.
It will be interesting to see if an employment tribunal claim follows.