Police officer dragged Muslim woman out of Birmingham HMO in 'state of undress'

PC Paul Littler was found to have dragged a vulnerable woman out of an HMO property and said: “I am the police, I can make up stuff as I go along, can't I”

A West Midlands Police officer has been dismissed from the force after dragging a Muslim woman out of an HMO despite her being in a state of undress and her pleas against it.

PC Paul Littler dragged a woman from a property in Birmingham in November 2022 after police responded to a report of a landlord being barricaded inside a property.

When officers arrived they found that was not the case and instead found a woman sitting on the floor in the hallway and refusing to leave.

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The woman was then handcuffed and dragged from the property ‘to prevent a breach of the peace’.

She was left on the driveway of the property in a partial state of undress after disputing her eviction.

The woman had no trousers on and had said she was a hijab-wearing Muslim woman and requested she be allowed to dress but was not allowed to do so.

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Gross misconduct proceedings were brought against PC Littler by the force and a hearing took place on Wednesday (May 21) following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

A disciplinary panel led by an independent and legally qualified chair, heard that PC Littler ‘disregarded the woman’s protests’ when she tried to show him evidence on her mobile of her right to stay at the property.

He told her: “I am the police, I can make up stuff as I go along, can't I”, and: “I’ve read it, you are still getting dragged out.”

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IOPC director, Derrick Campbell, said: “PC Littler was in a position of trust but he treated the woman with a lack of respect despite her being at a multi-occupancy property housing people with vulnerabilities.

“As she was being dragged outside she told police she was she was a Muslim, hijab-wearing woman, and that she had no trousers on.

“The panel agreed this was undignified and that the officer failed to respect her request for modesty.

“Allegations that dragging her in handcuffs was inappropriate and that PC Littler used language indicating he would abuse his power as a police officer, were also found proven.”

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PC Littler was dismissed without notice after he was found to have breached police professional standards of behaviour for duties and responsibilities; authority, respect and courtesy; use of force; and discreditable conduct.

He will be added to the College of Policing barred list preventing future employment with the police.

A spokesperson for the IPOC said: “Evidence we gathered, which included body worn footage (BWV), showed that police were responding to a report that the landlord had been barricaded into the property in November 2022.

“On arrival they found that was not the case and the woman was sitting on the floor in hallway refusing to leave.

“Our investigators were told that the woman was handcuffed and removed from the property to prevent a breach of the peace.

“On completing our enquiries the following June we found a case to answer for misconduct against PC Littler.

“As he was already on a final written warning from a previous, unrelated incident he was brought before a gross misconduct hearing.”

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The spokesperson continued: “Our investigation considered whether the woman had been discriminated against but in our view the evidence did not indicate she had been treated less favourably because of her race.

“We also found a case to answer for misconduct for another constable over their communication with the woman during the incident and role in dragging her from the property.

“A misconduct meeting for the officer could not be arranged until the conclusion of these proceedings, and it will now be organised by the force.”