Ex Police Federation boss faces misconduct probe

The former chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation is being investigated for gross misconduct over social media posts.

Earlier this year, the High Court quashed a previous decision to suspend Sgt Richard Cooke from his federation post following other complaints about separate social media comments.

The current investigation follows complaints made by Charlotte Smith, from Warwickshire, who described Cooke's post as "inappropriate and inflammatory".

Cooke told the BBC he did not want to comment on the gross misconduct investigation.

Smith contacted West Midlands Police in April 2025 about comments Cooke had made on X.

She previously spoke to the BBC after reporting another police officer, former inspector Paul Whitehurst, of Warwickshire Police, for harassment.

Cooke, who at the time was the chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, re-posted the article and commented that "many officers lives are also totally destroyed by false and malicious allegations and delays".

Smith said the comments made by Cooke were "deeply insulting, especially to women who have experienced abuse at the hands of men and, more specifically, male police officers".

In October 2025, a panel found Whitehurst would have been dismissed for gross misconduct if he had not resigned.

Cooke was informed on 30 March he was being investigated for gross misconduct following complaints made by members of the public.

This is the start of a formal police disciplinary procedure and is not a judgement on an officer's actions.

If an officer is considered to have breached the standards of professional behaviour, then it could lead to a public hearing.

West Midlands Police confirmed to the BBC that a serving sergeant with the force was "under gross misconduct investigation following complaints from a number of members of the public relating to a number of social media posts".

A spokesperson for the force confirmed the investigation was being independently managed by Lincolnshire Police and the officer had not been suspended from duty.

Previously, Cooke was suspended in December 2024 after he suggested claims of widespread racism in the force were "nonsense".

An investigation by the Police Federation of England and Wales found that comments he made on social media and in interviews had breached professional standards.

He was suspended from his role as chairman and banned from standing in elections for any public roles for a year.

That decision was quashed by the High Court in January 2026.

Cooke said the federation's decision to suspend him had breached his right to free speech and he had been "the victim of a witch hunt".

He said: "I only ever sought to defend the reputation of my colleagues from what I considered were unfair, misleading headlines about them. A job I was twice elected to do."

The Police Federation began a legal challenge against the High Court's decision, which it later dropped.