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A Norwich police officer referred to a transgender protestor as “the pink-haired thing” in audio released from an accidental bodycam recording.
Officers at Bethel Street Police Station in Norwich accidentally recorded themselves on a bodycam they had confiscated from Gemma Barnes, who had been protesting outside the station after a pigeon was killed in the town by a man on a mobility scooter.
Barnes, an animal rights activist, was protesting outside the station in January 2023, when she was arrested on a public order charge, after she alleges she was pushed to the ground by an officer.
She and another protester were acquitted at trial in Norwich Magistrate’s court in November 2023, and she was given her bodycam back afterwards.
Barnes says she then got the camera back and discovered files of police officers talking about her and another protester, is trans.
According to The Mirror, one officer says of the trans protester: “The pink-haired thing, whatever that was, they/them.”
Officers could also be heard talking about pushing Barnes over, branding her “an absolute f****** waste of space” and saying they “illegally stop-search IC3 females” – IC3 is police code to refer to Black people.
Barnes filed a complaint in early 2023 about how she was handled by police, as well as the recordings she recovered on her bodycam. The Mirror reports that three officers were given “reflective practice”, and Gemma, who called it a “whitewash” is now suing Norfolk Constabulary.
She released a four-and-a-half hour video on YouTube of the bodycam footage, which included her arrest, and the audio of police officers.
“As I kept listening I realised the magnitude of their c***-up,” she 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.”
Her lawyer, John Hagan, told the paper: “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’.”
A spokesperson for Norfolk Constabulary said: “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.”
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