Armed officer in Met discrimination case denies exaggerating 'attack'

A black female police constable who claims her career has been held back because of her race and sex today denied exaggerating an incident where she said she was pinned in a corner by a more senior officer.

Pc Carol Howard, who has taken the Metropolitan Police to an employment tribunal, has told the hearing that Acting Inspector Dave Kelly pinned her in a corner and pointed his fingers in her face in a threatening manner while carrying his pistol.

"I was very intimidated by this attack," she said in her witness statement to the hearing in central London.

Today she confirmed to Robin White, representing the police, that Mr Kelly did not touch her.

She said: "I felt pinned because I felt trapped and confined, because he was acting aggressively towards me holding two loaded firearms."

Asked if she had exaggerated the physical circumstances of the encounter, she said: "No, there was no exaggeration about it, he was acting aggressively towards me.

"This is somebody who is supposed to serve and protect the public, but he is acting aggressively with two firearms."

Asked if she was concerned he would take out a firearm and shoot her, she said: "I was frightened. He frightened me, yes he did."

Pc Howard, 34, a firearms officer in the Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG), is claiming direct discrimination on grounds of race, sex and marital status, and is also claiming harassment and victimisation.

Her witness statement to the hearing said that her career as an authorised firearms officer (AFO) was disrupted when Mr Kelly was posted to DPG in December 2011.

"From then on, I was targeted, subjected to detrimental treatment and harassed by Acting Inspector Kelly's actions in comparison to male and/or non-black colleagues," she said.

She was one of only two black women out of 700 officers in the group, she added.

During the time when she was allegedly receiving less favourable treatment than others from Mr Kelly, he was acting up from his rank of Sergeant, to which he has now reverted, she said in her statement.

A Met Police spokesman has said: "Police Constable Carol Howard of the Diplomatic Protection Group is bringing an employment tribunal claim against the Metropolitan Police Service citing racial and sexual discrimination. The MPS will robustly defend the claim."

The tribunal continues.