Police Officer Who Sent George Floyd Memes In WhatsApp Group Chats Sentenced To Jail

Officer Who Sent George Floyd Memes In WhatsApp Group Chats Sentenced To Jail

A British former police officer who sent multiple racist memes about the death of George Floyd on WhatsApp was sentenced to serve 20 weeks in jail.

James Watts,31, worked for the West Mercia Police Force until he resigned after it was discovered he was sending the racist George Floyd memes to his friends and made references about not being able to breathe.

In June 2020, an Asian male colleague reportedly became concerned with the images after Watts started sending them in their group chat. According to Birmingham Mail, the man told him to slow down with the memes but he continued.

 

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Later on, the former colleague exposed the messages on Twitter with the tweet: “Former work colleague now serving police officer sent these in group chat. What hope is there in police in the UK sharing these.”

Watts also sent disturbing messages about Floyd’s death via Facebook Messenger to his friends and family. in addition to the memes, he sent jokes about genitals.

“He provided a full account at the interview. He admitted to having sent the images,” said prosecutor Simon Brownsey.

“He acknowledged they were inappropriate and explained he sent them into groups without any malicious intent. His intention was not to offend anybody,” Simon Brownsey added.