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| PCSOs 'faced racism and violence' | PCSOs 'faced racism and violence' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Staff at a police station in central London have encountered violence and racist bullying, an internal Scotland Yard investigation has found. | Staff at a police station in central London have encountered violence and racist bullying, an internal Scotland Yard investigation has found. |
| Many Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Belgravia were afraid to speak out and some were assaulted or threatened by colleagues, it added. | Many Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Belgravia were afraid to speak out and some were assaulted or threatened by colleagues, it added. |
| And there was "no doubting the credibility and consistency" of these employees' accounts, the report said. | And there was "no doubting the credibility and consistency" of these employees' accounts, the report said. |
| The review was submitted to an employment tribunal brought by a PCSO. | The review was submitted to an employment tribunal brought by a PCSO. |
| Asad Saeed claims senior Metropolitan Police officers at Belgravia station "turned a blind eye to racism". | Asad Saeed claims senior Metropolitan Police officers at Belgravia station "turned a blind eye to racism". |
| Documents given to the tribunal also include allegations of homophobic abuse and intimidation among staff. | |
| 'Humiliating and disturbing' | |
| Mr Saeed's claims centre on two colleagues who have since resigned from the force, having faced charges of gross misconduct. | |
| There was an "apartheid" system at the station, he claimed, with separate vans used to transport black and white officers. | |
| "It was obvious that there was an established racial divide," he added, saying that this became apparent "a week or so" after he joined the Metropolitan Police as a PCSO in January 2007. | |
| Mr Saeed became a PCSO for the Metropolitan Police at Belgravia in 2007One colleague who was a van driver would refuse to pick up PCSOs who were not white, Mr Saeed alleged. | |
| "At first I thought he was just anti-social but very soon I started to think it may have something to do with me being the only Asian Muslim on the team," he said. | |
| "I found it humiliating and disturbing whenever I called him on the radio and he would not answer. | |
| "The airwaves were public as well, so everyone knew it was going on." | |
| The force asked Sgt Sarah Cashman to look into complaints about unacceptable behaviour, which her report has stated took place over "a prolonged period of time". | |
| Among claims of racist language were an allegation that one officer said: "Stick by me and we will bring down all the lazy blacks, one by one." | |
| She also found claims of bullying and violence against people who were homeless. | |
| Asked about Mr Saeed's allegations last week, the force's new commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, described them as "appalling", but said it was not clear when they began. | |
| "If it did take place it is appalling, and if it was known about, I want to know what was done about it." |