A south London police officer has kept his job after telling a steward “I’ll f****** have you” during a row at a League One football match.
Thomas Hooper, who worked for the British Transport Police, had attended an Oxford United vs Exeter City game while off-duty with his brother and a friend on September 23, 2023.
Following the match in the concourse of the ground Mr Hooper was lifted up while he attempted to put a sticker on a disabled toilet sign, a police misconduct hearing heard.
A female steward told the officer to get down. When the warning was repeated by a male steward, who then physically intervened, Mr Hooper became “aggressive and abusive” towards him, the hearing heard.
He then accused the steward of pushing him and said, “I’ll f****** see you outside” and “I’ll f****** have you outside.”
The misconduct hearing also heard that the officer referred to the match stewards as “kn*******” while talking to a dedicated football officer at the ground.
Mr Hooper agreed with the officer that putting the stick up could be seen as criminal damage but quipped “f*** me it’s minimal”.
A panel looking into Mr Hooper’s actions found that he “demonstrated a lack of integrity by agreeing to carry out criminal damage in his attempt to affix a sticker to a toilet sign as well as by his abuse of and threats”.
The panel added that Mr Hooper demonstrated a “lack of courtesy and respect to other members of the public”.
His actions were found to be gross misconduct and he was handed a final written warning as a result of his behaviour.
The panel ruled that on balance, it would be a greater loss to the public interest were Mr Hooper not allowed to remain in the police service.
