Police Officer Made 11th-hour Bid To DELAY Hearing Before Being SACKED Over Racist And Sexist Posts — Including Comment That ‘Condoned Violence’ Against A Child

PC Stefan Downs emailed at 7.30am on the morning of his misconduct hearing, seeking an adjournment, saying he had not been offered reasonable adjustments
His Police Federation representative advanced the application — but Chief Constable Simon Blatchly refused to delay proceedings and went ahead without the officer
Downs was then dismissed without notice after all allegations were proven, including social media posts found to be racist, sexist and discriminatory

A POLICE officer made an 11th-hour attempt to delay his misconduct hearing over claims he had not been offered reasonable adjustments — before being sacked over a string of racist, sexist and discriminatory social media posts.

PC Stefan Downs emailed Derbyshire Constabulary at 7.30 am on the morning of his accelerated misconduct hearing asking for proceedings to be adjourned.

The officer, who did not attend the public hearing at Derbyshire Police Headquarters in Ripley on August 27, said he had not been offered reasonable adjustments.

The determination does not reveal what specific adjustments Downs was seeking.

His application for an adjournment was advanced at the hearing by Mr Galley of the Police Federation, who represented him.

But Chief Constable Simon Blatchly refused to postpone proceedings and decided the hearing should continue in Downs’ absence.

By the end of the hearing, Downs had been dismissed without notice after every allegation against him was found proven.

Posts included a comment that ‘condoned violence’ against a child

The case centred on a series of comments and images Downs posted on social media on various dates during 2025 and 2026.

Among the material considered was a post concerning a child.

Chief Constable Blatchly found the language used to describe the child was offensive, inappropriate and derogatory, adding: “It condones violence to be used against a child.”

Other posts were found to contain racist, sexist and otherwise discriminatory material.

The Chief Constable said one comment displayed prejudice towards women, while another generalised about people on the basis of their skin colour and/or ethnicity.

Another post was found to equate immigration with criminality.

Downs admitted making the social media posts during his investigation interview and again in his formal response to the allegations.

But he denied that his conduct amounted to breaches of the Standards of Professional Behaviour.

The Chief Constable disagreed and found all of the allegations proven on the balance of probabilities.

He had already been warned over social media

Crucially, Downs had previously been formally warned about his social media activity.

In April 2025 he was served with a Written Improvement Notice concerning his use of social media.

As part of that process, he was required to review Derbyshire Constabulary’s social media policies, undertake training and consider the Code of Ethics when using social media.

But the hearing found that Downs subsequently made at least four further posts which breached those policies.

Chief Constable Blatchly said Downs’ actions were “deliberate and intentional”, finding that he had targeted certain groups.

He concluded that some of the comments were consciously discriminatory on the grounds of disability, race and sex.

The officer’s culpability was assessed as high, as was the level of harm.

The Chief Constable said there was already widespread national concern about police officers sharing the types of attitudes displayed in Downs’ posts.

He found that the behaviour would “seriously damage confidence in and the reputation of the police service” if members of the public became aware of the full circumstances.

‘Deliberate and discriminatory’

The hearing found Downs had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Authority, Respect and Courtesy; Orders and Instructions; Equality and Diversity; and Discreditable Conduct.

The breaches, taken together, were found to amount to gross misconduct.

In determining sanction, the Chief Constable considered Downs’ record and the material submitted on his behalf.

But he concluded that the seriousness of the proven conduct meant no outcome short of dismissal would adequately protect public confidence in policing and uphold professional standards.

Chief Constable Blatchly described the behaviour as “deliberate and discriminatory” and said it severely affected public trust and confidence in the police service.

He also said dismissal would send a clear message that officers could not use social media, including in their personal lives, to spread discriminatory and disrespectful attitudes.

PC Stefan Downs was dismissed without notice.

His details are also to be included on the Police Barred List, preventing him from returning to specified policing roles.