Ex-armed cop forced to strip down to underwear wins £30k payout from West Midlands Police

An employment tribunal found West Midlands Police liable for incidents of sexual discrimination and harassment against ex-Detective Inspector Rebecca Kalam, which included a male trainer pushing her down by putting his foot on the back of her neck.

She claimed she felt "belittled" and "devalued" when working as a ballistics officer for the force, where she was one of only seven women in a unit with 235 men.

Mrs Kalam ended up taking medical retirement.

In 2012, she was made the ‘poster girl’ for the firearms operations unit and told she could not pass the training course if she did not agree.

The tribunal, held in Birmingham, heard that in March 2012, she was required to act as a ‘stooge’ in a mock training exercise by having her clothes cut off and stripped down to her underwear so that first aid could be given.

The scenario was based on a bullet hole on the top of the left breast, which officers would then have to treat in the training session, which left Mrs Kalam feeling "extremely uncomfortable".

During a training exercise in the same month, the tribunal heard that Mrs Kalam was doing press ups when a male trainer pushed her down with his foot on the back of her neck and said "just because you have tits does not mean you cannot do a press up".

West Midlands Police admitted to 75 allegations made as part of the employment tribunal.

Mrs Kalam was originally seeking £1.2 million in compensation at the tribunal.

However, the panel dismissed her claim for ‘aggravated’ damages.

Employment Judge Christopher Camp said: "The severity of this case comes mainly from the fact that the admitted wrongs inflicted on the claimant by the respondent have resulted in a relatively young woman, ambitious in her career generally and specifically ambitious in her career in the police, being made so unwell that she has been medically retired and has been rendered unable to work for the police again for the foreseeable future.

"The claimant has also suffered significant psychiatric injury. This developed in February 2021.

"As things stand – around two-and-a-half years later – it is a relatively severe psychiatric disorder.

"She has been too unwell to work since April 2022 and will not be well enough even to work in a field outside policing for a further year, albeit the medium- to long-term prognosis is good."

In response to the ruling, West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Scott Green, said: “A number of serious issues have been highlighted by this case many of which date back to 2012 when Mrs Kalam joined the firearms unit.

“I am sorry that more was not done sooner to address the serious concerns that Mrs Kalam raised and for the impact these have had on her.

“There is no place for misogynistic, discriminatory or disrespectful behaviour in policing and we are working hard to set and reinforce the highest professional standards.

“Under the leadership of Chief Superintendent Sarah Burton, officers and staff in the firearms unit have worked hard over the past two years to improve culture, standards and the working environment and significant progress has been made.

“This includes positive changes to the working environment, training and development opportunities and all female officers in the firearms unit have now been issued with uniform and equipment which meets their specific requirements, including formed ballistic protection.

"Female firearms officers are also involved in trialling and assessing new uniform and equipment and we have also introduced new arrangements to procure female specific uniform and equipment.

“These important steps are helping us to attract and retain the best and most diverse people in firearms policing, and benefit those already working in this critical area and the public they serve.”

West Midlands Police said it is considering the finding of the judgment in order to conclude matters.