A former Metropolitan Police officer was on Monday (Nov 6) found guilty of sending an offensive racist message in a group chat.

Michael Chadwell, from Liss, Hampshire, shared the message in a personal WhatsApp group chat, which included retired Met officers, on Sep 28, 2022, as per PA news agency reports.

He shared a graphic, which allegedly was created by someone else, showing parrots in different colours placed above pictures of children of different races.

According to the local media reports, the text superimposed on top of the parrots read, “Why do we cherish the variety of colour in every species… but our own?”

Under which someone’s comment read, “Because I have never had a bike stolen out of my front yard by a parrot”.

The 62-year-old had denied one count of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages. However, he was found guilty after a trial at City of London Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Nov 6).

Chadwell, who had retired from the Metropolitan Police Service in Nov 2015, during the trial said, “The reason I’ve come here today is because I don’t believe that joke is racist.”

“The reason I’ve sent the joke is because what’s written underneath is silly, it’s a riposte, someone has written something funny underneath,” he was quoted as saying by PA news agency.

“Whilst agreeing with the imagery in the first part, what’s written underneath is a piece of silliness that’s been said about it,” he added.

“My reason for (posting) it into the group was because of what the person had written on Facebook underneath, which I felt was Dadaist, surreal and a little bit Monty Python.”

Offence committed after retirement, says judge

Chadwell, who had served in the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command and Counter Terrorism Command, had committed the offence after his retirement, noted District Judge Tan Ikram.

The judge said: “It is not in dispute that this message was sent.”

“It was sent in a group which had previously, by the defendant’s own admission, circulated racist jokes.”

“I use the word ‘jokes’ but I will come back to that word. Jokes can be grossly offensive and can amount to a criminal offence and therefore I do not trivialise by using the word joke.”

“Clearly his friends thought this was funny.”

“The absolute clear implication of the post is that black people steal”, the judge was quoted as saying. He added, “It’s a clearly racist generalization and caricature of ethnic people. I have no doubt in my mind that it’s grossly offensive.”