A UK cop was nearly axed after he was accused of dangling a slice of pepperoni pizza over a Jewish colleague’s food — causing a piece of swine to tumble into her kosher meal, according to a new report.
A panel found Sgt. Gary Jacobs guilty of gross misconduct in connection with the March incident during an appearance before a disciplinary panel at Sussex police headquarters in Lewes this week, Metro UK reported.
The newly minted female officer, only identified as Pc A, had been relaxing with Jacobs and other colleagues before a shift when she ordered a kosher chicken pizza, Metro UK reported.
Another officer suggested that Pc A’s leftovers be kept separate from the other officers’ to avoid contamination, according to the report.
That’s when Jacobs allegedly picked up a pepperoni slice, dangling it over his junior colleague’s kosher meal, saying, “technically not touching,” the outlet reported.
A piece of pork fell into Pc A’s meal, rendering it inedible for her, the outlet reported.
“Whoops!” he allegedly quipped. “I will eat the incriminating evidence.”
The rookie officer, who did not feel comfortable speaking up against her colleague’s actions at the time, felt “embarrassed, isolated and as if she was being mocked for her faith,” Amy Clarke, who brought the allegation on behalf of the police force, said at the hearing, according to The Independent.
“Sgt. Jacobs knew that she was Jewish and knew that she maintained a kosher diet and we say any modicum of common sense ought to dictate that that means that you should not dangle pork over her food,” Clarke said.
But Colin Banham, who represented Jacobs, said the sergeant never intended to contaminate his colleague’s food, and that he “bitterly regrets” and is “clearly remorseful” about what happened.
His actions were not premeditated, and were done in a “jocular atmosphere,” Banham argued.
But that defense made no difference for Clarke.
“It appears that Sgt. Jacobs has prioritized making a joke, as he describes it, over showing an officer, another individual, respect for their faith which is clearly important to them,” she said.
The sergeant will receive a final written warning as a result of the hearing, Metro reported.
“Officer, I cannot tell you how close you came to losing your job today,” panel chair Michael Salter said, according to the report. “I have done this job for a number of years now. I have not found any case that has fallen so close to the boundary as yours has.”