A police chief in one of Britain’s biggest forces has retired after allegations of bullying and discrimination were made against him.
Tyron Joyce stepped down while deputy chief constable leading police chiefs’ national effort to fix the race crisis plaguing law enforcement. He was on secondment from the West Yorkshire force.
Only limited detail about his departure from policing is being released.
Last month the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, received complaints about him.
They assessed them and decided Joyce’s home force – West Yorkshire – should investigate, rather than the watchdog investigate independently.
West Yorkshire police are refusing to say whether they will or have started the investigation.
The IOPC said: “We received a mandatory conduct referral from West Yorkshire police in April relating to allegations of bullying and discrimination by a senior officer.
“After careful consideration of the available information, we determined the matter should be subject to a local investigation.
“We have also advised the force that any additional conduct matters identified during the investigation should be referred to the IOPC for further consideration.”
West Yorkshire police refused to comment, citing their belief that they can not comment about a named individual.
They also refused to comment on whether they were investigating a former senior officer of theirs.
The allegations against Joyce were received by the IOPC on 19 April this year. The IOPC sent them back to West Yorkshire to investigate on 27 April.
Joyce was programme director for the National Police Chiefs’ Council race action plan. The council says it was told of his plans to retire on 2 May.
Joyce at the time of his departure from policing was one of the most senior black officers in the country.
The NPCC’s race action plan was launched in 2020 after the murder in the United States of George Floyd by a police officer, which led to protest across the world, including in the United Kingdom.
Three years on, the race action plan is beset by problems and the NPCC insists the programme will continue despite Joyce’s departure.
The NPCC said: “We were notified of DCC Tyron Joyce’s decision to retire and therefore step away from his role as programme director
“The senior responsible officer for the work strand remains chief constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the NPCC and the programme of work will continue as normal.”
Joyce, while a chief superintendent with the West Yorkshire force, oversaw the National Police Air Service. He was promoted after claims were made about his conduct.
News of his departure from policing was first reported by the Daily Telegraph, which said Joyce had clashes with colleagues, which had led to the formal complaints.
