A FORMER volunteer police officer who shared offensive posts on Twitter committed gross misconduct, a panel found.

It was alleged that between 2018 and 2019 former Special Constable Kieren Morrison retweeted 22 posts which contained language which was offensive, discriminatory, and derogatory.

The posts were retweeted from a personal account while Morrison was off duty.

He resigned as a Special Constable on May 5 this year.

At an Essex Police accelerated misconduct hearing, held virtually on the June 2, he was accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy, equality and diversity, and discreditable conduct.

The Chief Constable found the allegations proven.

If Morrison had not already resigned, the panel stated he would have been dismissed without notice.

Chief Constable BJ Harrington said: “The public of Essex and I rightly expect the very highest standards from our officers in how they conduct themselves on or off duty. The views and language expressed in the posts retweeted by former Special Constable Kieren Morrison have absolutely no place whatsoever within Essex Police.

"They risk damaging the relationships we have with communities across the county and could discourage people from reporting crime or applying to work for us."

Morrison will now be included on the College of Policing Barred List, which prevents him from working within policing in the future.