A Norwich police officer referred to a transgender protester as “the pink-haired thing” in audio accidentally captured on a confiscated body camera.
The recording was made inside Bethel Street Police Station after officers seized animal rights activist Gemma Barnes’ camera during a protest in January 2023.
Barnes had been demonstrating outside the station following the reported killing of a pigeon by a man using a mobility scooter. She was arrested on a public-order charge after what she alleges was an officer pushing her to the ground.
Barnes and another protester were acquitted at Norwich Magistrates’ Court in November 2023. Her body camera was returned after the trial, and she later discovered that it contained hours of conversations recorded inside the station.
The audio allegedly captured officers making derogatory comments about Barnes and another protester, who is transgender.
“The pink-haired thing, whatever that was, they/them,” one officer could reportedly be heard saying.
Recording Captures Further Offensive Remarks
The footage reportedly contains several other troubling conversations between officers.
Police could allegedly be heard discussing Barnes being pushed over and referring to her as “an absolute f****** waste of space”.
Another recorded comment appeared to involve an officer saying they “illegally stop-search IC3 females”. IC3 is a police code historically used to describe someone perceived as Black.
Barnes released a four-and-a-half-hour video containing footage of her arrest and the conversations recorded after officers took the camera into the station.
“As I kept listening I realised the magnitude of their c***-up,” Barnes told The Mirror. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The incompetence of it is unbelievable.
“I was shocked that none of these comments were challenged by other officers, it’s really, really bad.”
Officers Given “Reflective Practice”
Barnes filed a complaint about her treatment and the recordings in early 2023.
A Norfolk Constabulary conduct investigation began in January 2024 and considered 17 separate issues within the complaint.
According to The Mirror, three officers were required to undertake “reflective practice”, a process intended to address conduct or performance concerns through learning rather than formal disciplinary sanctions.
Barnes described the outcome as a “whitewash” and is pursuing legal action against Norfolk Constabulary.
Her lawyer, John Hagan, said the recordings offered a disturbing insight into conversations taking place inside the police station.
“This footage shows us what goes on inside many police officers’ heads and behind the closed doors of the police station, and it is not a pretty sight. Officers can be heard describing my client as a f****** waste of space, discussing other officers attempting to generate an unsubstantiated charge against her and describing a transgender person as a ‘thing’.”
Norfolk Constabulary Reviewing New Material
Norfolk Constabulary confirmed that the footage had formed part of its conduct investigation and said several matters had been addressed through misconduct procedures.
“We can confirm this footage was reviewed as part of a conduct investigation which started in January 2024 and considered 17 separate aspects as part of a single complaint. Following that investigation, a number of matters were addressed through the appropriate misconduct processes. We also reviewed arrest and stop and search records for the officers involved and found no wider evidence of discriminatory behaviour. This investigation is currently subject to a complainant’s right to review with the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
“Part of the footage currently being circulated on social media has not previously been provided to the Constabulary in its current format and we are therefore further reviewing this. As a matter of fairness, we will not comment further on this while that assessment is ongoing.
“We know that some of the content currently being shared will undermine public confidence in policing. People rightly expect high standards from police officers and staff, and some of the content being circulated falls short of what the public would expect to hear. We are carefully reviewing the new material and will take any action that is supported by evidence.”
Barnes’ complaint remains subject to her right to seek a review from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, while Norfolk Constabulary continues assessing the newly circulated material.
