A Surrey Police sergeant who shared racist texts and a video of a man attempting to take his own life has been stripped of his rank.

Daniel Hebborn admitted to sending a series of Whatsapp messages to friends in 2019 and 2020. Which included a video showing a man attempting to take his own life by jumping from a high rise building.

The video showed the male with “devastating injuries” on the floor, a police misconduct panel heard.

During the two-day police misconduct hearing in September, the former sergeant accepted the messages were inappropriate, breached the standards of authority, respect and courtesy.

The panel said his behaviour had the “obvious potential to cause serious harm to the reputational standing of the Surrey Police and national policing in general and undermine public confidence”.

The messages also included an image deemed an “inappropriate racist joke” showing a photo of an elderly black man with his arm around the shoulders of an elderly white man with the accompanying title ‘is this a mugging?.

In a separate message, the officer was asked whether he “beat a guy like you did when you arrested him for littering” to which the officer responded “he was white”.

He also shared an image of an empty articulated lorry trailer with the heading “Trailer for sale, serious offers only, sleeps 39 people”, followed by “Guess my favourite restaurant will be short staffed again too”.

Hebborn continued to serve as a sergeant in the years between sending the racist messages and the conduct hearing.

The report read: “There was some concern that the ‘banter’ contained in the WhatsApp messages may have extended beyond the private group and into his position as a sergeant and role model to those in his team or station.

“Based on comments made in his own submitted character references including; ‘Dan’s sense of humour is best described as pushing boundaries that are deliberately controversial but always intended as a joke’.”

The panel determined that the multiple breaches of the Standards as admitted, amounted to gross misconduct and were arguably so serious as to justify dismissal. However, Hebborn avoided being sacked and was instead given a final warning and reduced to the rank of constable.

Head of professional standards, Chief Superintendent Andy Rundle, said: “The hearing heard that former PS Dan Hebborn had admitted to the offensive and inappropriate messages and shown significant remorse for his actions.

“Due to their historic, non-work-related nature, as well as his previous record of service, the panel has determined that reducing his rank to PC is an appropriate course of action.

“This decision carries a financial impact as well as potentially impacting any transfer request and future career development. Surrey Police is committed to being an anti-racist organisation, all forms of discrimination are entirely unacceptable.

“We place immense value on serving and protecting all our communities with fairness and respect as well as ensuring those who work within our Force enjoy a sense of belonging and respect from their colleagues.”