Police sergeant horrifies colleagues with string of revolting workplace 'jokes'

A police officer has been banned from his profession after a string of horrifying incidents left his colleagues feeling "uncomfortable", it has been revealed. Alexis Towers, who worked at , made "crude and vulgar" remarks towards his female colleagues.

A misconduct panel heard that the women had become so uncomfortable around him, that they tried to limit interactions where possible. The officer, who quit the while under investigation, built a reputation for speaking about both male and female autonomy. The panel heard that he told two new officers that his "Prince Albert" was pierced and said the rota was "vagina heavy", when the team were mainly females on duty.

According to the panel, he referred to women as "girls" and had been found for "sexual objectification". His outrageous remarks included that he was a "fan of lesbians", later contributing to a misconduct panel.

In February last year, while preparing a breath test for a colleague who had been knocked off his motorcycle on the way to , Sergeant Towers undid his trousers and said "blow on this". The misconduct panel hearing concluded that he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had he still been serving, .

READ MORE:

In a report published by West Police, the panel said: "The panel noted a number of comments from colleagues relating to their workplace interactions with the former officer. "Witnesses have described the language used by the officer as crude and inappropriate and making them reluctant to engage with him in the workplace."

The report noted that the officer had "appeared to have acquired notoriety within his team in relation to the comments and views expressed." It said: "A culture also appeared to have developed where female officers were expressing a reluctance to engage with the former officer."

The incidents spanned a timeframe from June 2023 to April 2024, according to one statement by an officer who said sexual comments "lowered morale" and made the city centre policing team "an uncomfortable place to work".

Sergeant Towers, in response to the misconduct investigation, said his comments were "purely meant as a joke" and accepted that his humour was in "poor taste". He apologised for his actions. He had been a police officer for 21 years.

The panel said: "The witness evidence received detailed female officers’ discomfort within the workplace, their concern that the former officer was misogynistic and sexist and this in turn prevented them from engaging with him and having an effective supervisory relationship with him."

The panel noted that the officer was in a senior supervisory role and should have been a positive role model. "Instead, he was demonstrating gender-based discrimination and sexual objectification," the panel's report concluded.

"His comments in relation to lesbians also suggested an objectification of persons based on their sexual orientation. This again was inappropriate behaviour to be modelling to junior colleagues."

Following the misconduct report, Detective Chief Superintendent Tanya Wilkins, Head of West Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said "West Yorkshire Police will not tolerate any offensive, sexualised or misogynistic comments in the workplace. We make it clear to all workforce members what is acceptable behaviour toward colleagues, and there is a requirement for the reporting of any behaviour that crosses the line.

"This officer behaved in a way that does not fit with the ethical principles of our organisation. He was a supervisor who should have been setting an example of the standards expected in the workplace. He showed a lack of respect and courtesy towards colleagues.

"He left the organisation while under investigation. This misconduct hearing found that his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and that he would have been dismissed had he still been a serving officer. The result of this hearing means that he will now be added to the College of Policing’s Barred List preventing him from gaining any further employment in policing."