Met Police head ‘joked about Chinese people and received video mocking Harvey Price’
Charles Ehikioya is accused of being in a chat where racist, misogynistic, homophobic and pornographic messages were sent
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Your support makes all the difference.The Metropolitan Police’s Black Police Association head joked about Chinese people and received a video mocking Katie Price’s disabled son Harvey, a misconduct hearing was told.
Inspector Charles Ehikioya is accused of being in a chat with former officer Carlo Francisco where racist, misogynistic, homophobic and pornographic messages were sent.
The officer, who is the full-time chair of the MBPA, could be sacked if the claims are proved – but he says they were fabricated or falsely attributed to him because of his race or position at the MBPA, it was heard.
In more than 7,000 messages between 2017 and 2020, the officer allegedly sent and received jokes, pictures and videos described by James Berry, representing the Met, as “disgraceful” and inappropriate.
He is also accused of failing to report them.
Inspector Ehikioya sent an image of the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner with the comment “message from the other side, tell the Muslims there’s no 72 virgins left”, a hearing at Palestra House in London was told on Tuesday.
Mr Francisco allegedly sent a video of a man snorting white powder through a tube while wearing a mask of Harvey Price’s face, as the person filming says “Go on Harvey, yeah”.
In 2023, Mr Francisco was separately found guilty of gross misconduct over messages shared in another WhatsApp chat with seven others, including some about Harvey Price.
Former glamour model Price, 46, said at the time she was “shocked and upset” by the comments officers made about her 22-year-old son, who has Prader–Willi syndrome and autism.
Scotland Yard apologised to them after the hearing.
There was a “sexist” image of the Back To The Future film poster amended to say “Back To The Kitchen” above the message “International Women’s Day is over” in the chatlog between Mr Francisco and Inspector Ehikioya, Mr Berry said on Tuesday.
Inspector Ehikioya also shared a video of a man whose face has been ripped off, with a message saying “I think the wife did this because he was late home from the pub”, Mr Berry said.
The hearing was told that Inspector Ehikioya sent a “homophobic” video of a preacher referencing anal sex.
Mr Berry said that the inspector posted a video of a female police officer in another country wearing leggings, and wrote “We def ain’t got girls like that in the Met”.
There were also a series of “racist” messages about Chinese people, it was alleged.
On April 1 2019, Inspector Ehikioya allegedly warned Mr Francisco to “stop sending or receiving these silly porns”, saying he could get into “trouble”.
The hearing was told that Mr Francisco replied: “I personally trust everyone I share something with… but sorry Charles I have to stop sharing with you now.”
This was followed by two smiley faces and a later post saying “April fool ma brother ohh”.
Jokes about sex with a girl with Down’s syndrome and mockery of the late Duke of Edinburgh’s car crash were also in the chatlog, a previous hearing heard.
There was a “clearly racist” video mocking a Korean woman pronouncing Coca-Cola, graphic images of a woman on her period, pictures of a female’s face being slapped by an erect penis and a joke about a “Taliban call girl”, it was alleged.
Inspector Ehikioya denies the allegations, and his defence is that he did not send or receive the messages, Mr Berry said.
The officer previously claimed he was racially harassed by two white colleagues when he was stopped while driving home from work.
The inspector said he was pulled over in Croydon, south London, on May 23 2020.
No action was taken against Inspector Ehikioya as a result of the stop and the Met said a review “found no evidence of misconduct”.
The hearing is due to run until January 10 and Inspector Ehikioya is on restricted duties until it ends.