FLYING SQUAD
Officer filmed doing a backflip on trampoline ... during a drugs bust
A POLICE officer who was caught on camera doing backflips on a trampoline during a drugs raid now faces an investigation by his force.
His antics took place in the garden of a property on Friday while colleagues searched for evidence. He was one of four investigating at a house in Coventry.
Before performing the backflip, he handed his kit belt to another officer as colleagues looked on laughing.
A neighbour who filmed the incident is heard saying on the video: ‘This is what you pay your taxes for. I can’t ****ing believe it.’
West Midlands Police said the officer’s behaviour was under review after appearing to ‘fall short’ of the conduct expected of officers. It comes as the region experiences a surge in violent crime. Between 2017 and 2018, murder and manslaughter rose by 8 per cent and violent crime by 15 per cent, with offences of possessing a weapon up by 26 per cent.
In February, West Midlands police and crime commissioner David Jamieson called the knife crime epidemic a ‘national emergency’ after a spate of stabbings.
Superintendent Jenny Skyrme said: ‘We expect our officers to have the highest standards in their conduct and behaviour and sadly this appears to fall short of that.
‘Our professional standards department will review the matter to determine if there is a breach of the standards of professional behaviour.’
‘This is what you pay taxes for’