Yahoo Finance UK officer cleared of breaking law over George Floyd meme
A Devon police sergeant who sent colleagues a “disgusting and grossly offensive” doctored image of George Floyd’s arrest has been cleared by a judge of breaking the law after she accepted it was sent as a joke.
Geraint Jones, 47, a custody sergeant in Torquay, shared the meme with colleagues at Devon and Cornwall police less than a week after Floyd’s death in May last year.
During his trial, Jones said the issue of whether the image – in which ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty on Tuesday of murdering Floyd, was replaced with a naked black man – had a racial angle “never even entered my mind”. It was intended to amuse his colleagues rather than cause offence, he said.
The district judge, Jo Matson, ruled that though most people would be appalled by the image, the prosecution had not proved it was not meant simply as a joke.
She said: “Although I and the majority of people would find the image Mr Jones sent disgusting and grossly offensive, particularly given the timing of when it was sent and from a serving police officer to other police officers and, although I have found the image to be grossly offensive to the black and minority ethnic community, I find that the prosecution have not proved beyond reasonable doubt the mental element required for a conviction.
“They have not made me sure it was not intended as a joke by Mr Jones. I accept that Mr Jones was not aware of, or recognised, the risk, at the time, that the image was liable to cause gross offence to those to whom it relates and I accept he was not aware of or recognised the risk that it may create fear or apprehension in any reasonable member of the public who were to read or see it.”
Watch: Black man shot dead by police serving warrant
Plymouth magistrates court heard that the officer forwarded the meme to a WhatsApp group of eight other people, including six police officers, after he received it from a friend. The meme featured Floyd’s arrest in Minneapolis on 25 May, with an image of a naked American man, Wardy Joubert III, taking the place of Chauvin.
Two members of the WhatsApp group replied with laughing emojis but one member complained about the image and Jones was referred to the force’s professional standards department.
Jones, who has served with the police for 23 years, was charged with sending a grossly offensive image contrary to the Communications Act 2003 after an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. He denied the charge.
Giving evidence at his trial last month, Jones said the image of Joubert had featured in other memes, including scenes featuring Donald Trump and the late Captain Sir Tom Moore. “Maybe I was after a cheap laugh or trying to raise a smile,” he said. “I didn’t think about it deeply and I didn’t look at the image in detail.” The judge said she found Jones to be a “very honest and open witness”.
The temporary assistant chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, Steve Parker, said: ““Sgt Jones currently remains suspended while this process remains ongoing. Devon and Cornwall police values equality and diversity enormously and we have an expectation of all of our staff to not only mirror this but act as advocates in our communities to support this ethos.”
