Still scarred by abuse I suffered as a Black and gay police officer
Instead of being ‘a poster boy for change’ Kevin was forced out, writes
WHEN the 1999 Macpherson Report into the killing of Stephen Lawrence described the Metropolitan Police as “institutionally racist”, then Prime Minister Tony Blair said a change was on the horizon.
He promised the report would ‘bring in a new era of race relations’ alongside a ‘fundamental shift in the way British society deals with racism.’
Watching the Prime Minister’s Questions from his home 21-yearold Kevin Maxwell, believed those words.
For a Black, gay, working class man, he felt it was a chance to be part of a new breed of police.
“Ever since I was young, I wanted to be in the police.
“I used to dream of chasing people down the back streets of Manchester
and catching the bad guys.”
Two years after Blair’s promise, at the age of 23, Kevin reported for duty at GMP’s training school in Bury.
He spent seven years within Greater Manchester Police.
But within days of joining, he was subjected to discrimination.
“As a black, gay guy in the police, it was not easy,” he explains.
“In my initial joining period, I was referred to as a coconut, a queer, and a p***.”
“People like me didn’t really exist and if they did, they definitely weren’t out and proud about it,” he said. “It was a predominantly white environment so to have this brown guy who’s also gay, they just didn’t know what to do with me.
“I really didn’t think it would be as bad as it was, it was really deep rooted.” When he complained he says he was simply told “that’s life”.
When he raised concerns about how he felt white officers were using him as a “buffer barrier” to stop Black and Asian people and then hand the case back over to them because “blacks don’t complain about blacks”, he says he was ignored.
In October 2008, Kevin left GMP after repeatedly being denied opportunities to progress through the organisation.
He went to work for the Metropolitan Police as a Special Branch officer at Heathrow Airport with counter-terrorism responsibilities. It was supposed to be a fresh start. “I thought moving to London would be more open minded.
“But the Met made GMP look like kindergarten.”
Today, Kevin still holds the scars of the impact that one day would have on him.
He says: “Did I think they were going to do the right thing when I complained? Of course I did.
“I was supposed to be part of this whole new way of policing. Being Black, gay, Northern and from a working class background, I should have been their poster boy for change. I was supposed to be a breath of fresh air.
“Instead, they never acknowledged that what I said was happening.”
In 2012, Kevin decided to take the police to court to try and make them accountable for what happened.
In December 2012, Kevin was sacked for “gross misconduct” after he was forced to go off work sick due to depression.
The tribunal, which was appealed and ultimately upheld in 2013, found the Metropolitan Police guilty of 44 counts of discrimination, harassment and victimisation against Kevin.
Despite this, almost ten years on, Kevin has still not received an apology from the police.
Last year, Kevin published his memoir ‘Forced Out,’ which goes into great detail about the institutionalised racism, homophobia and sexism the police force still faces.
● ‘Forced Out: A Detective’s Story of Prejudice and Resilience’ is published by Granta Books and available now at bookshops.