Nottinghamshire police inspector dismissed over abusive Tweets

Inspector Philip Grimwade attended an Accelerated Gross Misconduct Hearing open to the public and press at Force HQ on Monday 20 November.

Two female members of the public complained to the force about Inspector Grimwade’s behaviour on social media site Twitter in January and April 2023.

Nottinghamshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate carried out a thorough investigation into Inspector Grimwade’s social media interaction. The investigation began as soon as the first complainant came forward. The tweets were directed at members of the public.

Some of the comments described two female Twitter users as ‘mentalists’ and ‘narcissists’ which the complainants felt were “misogynistic”, “abusive” and “unprofessional.”

Inspector Grimwade, who has been a serving police officer for 26 years, said he originally set up his Twitter account to shine a light on the good work of the force but had lost focus, prespective and manners over time. He denied having misogynistic views and was deeply remorseful for what he did. He admitted gross misconduct.

The gross misconduct hearing was chaired by Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police Kate Meynell.

The hearing found that Inspector Grimwade breached the standards of professional behaviour specifically Twitter content relating to discreditable conduct and authority, respect and courtesy.

At the hearing, Chief Constable Meynell said: “The officer sent derogatory, offensive, discriminatory and abusive comments on twitter over a period of time from December 2017 until January 2023.

“This is at a time when policing is under considerable national scrutiny through high-profile cases where there has been a failing to prevent or protect women and girls from abuse and violence. His postings directly concerned a woman involved in the Sarah Everard vigil at a time when quite rightly the public were concerned about the attitude of police officers towards women and girls.

“The officer’s conduct was intentional, deliberate and targeted and occurred over a period of years. It was repeated and sustained behaviour. "It was or should have been apparent to him that this would cause personal distress to the individuals involved and to the reputation of Nottinghamshire Police and wider policing.”

He was dismissed from Nottinghamshire Police and has been placed on the Barred List.