A Devon and Cornwall Police officer who sent a 'grossly offensive' image related to murdered American man George Floyd has been acquitted of committing a criminal offence but still faces disciplinary action.

The news comes as the US police officer charged with Mr Floyd's murder after kneeling his neck for nine minutes, was found guilty by a Minnesota jury.

Sergeant Geraint Jones, 47, was found not guilty at the hearing before a district judge at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court today. He had sent the image on 30 May 2020 to a WhatsApp group that included a number of other police officers and staff.

The altered image inserted a naked adult film actor in the place of a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd. The original image was widely reported and showed Mr Floyd as he was laying on the ground in Minneapolis shortly before his death.

The police investigation began in June 2020 following a referral Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) from the force after one of the WhatsApp group members reported the image to their force manager. At its conclusion in October the force sent its investigation report to the Crown Prosecution Service which authorised the charge under S.127 of the Communications Act 2003.

IOPC regional director Catrin Evans said: “At the end of our investigation we submitted our report to the CPS as in our view there was an indication that a criminal offence had been committed. A district judge has now determined the officer’s actions did not amount to a criminal offence. We also shared our report, which found the officer has a disciplinary case to answer for gross misconduct, with Devon and Cornwall Police. It will now be for the force to take forward disciplinary action.

“Criminal and disciplinary proceedings serve two different purposes. One is to determine whether someone has broken the law, and the other to determine whether an officer has breached police standards of professional behaviour. It will be for the police disciplinary process to determine whether the case against Sergeant Jones is proven and, if so, what the appropriate sanction is.”

"In respect of other serving officers among the group, we found no case to answer for misconduct. However, Devon and Cornwall Police agreed with our view that the performance of two individuals did fall short of expectations. A detention officer, who could not be shown to have viewed the entire image, has received informal management action from the force over their response to the message, and a sergeant is subject to reflective practice procedures for not reporting the matter straight away.

The force has since acted on recommendations made by the IOPC to strongly remind custody staff and the wider force of their expected behaviour under the police Code of Ethics and the Equality Act, and that they are duty bound to challenge and report inappropriate behaviour by any colleague. The force also agreed with our recommendation to take steps to ensure that all staff comply with national police guidance about posting comments or images on social media.

In a statement, Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Steve Parker said: “While the court has found Sgt Jones not guilty, this matter remains subject to an internal disciplinary process.

“Sgt Jones currently remains suspended while this process remains ongoing.

“Devon & Cornwall Police values equality and diversity enormously and we have an expectation of all of our staff to not only mirror this but act as advocates in our communities to support this ethos.

“We are aware of the concerns resulting from this incident and subsequent investigation. Since the matter came to light, we have taken an open and honest approach to engaging with our diverse communities. We will continue to do so following this verdict, and I would like to reassure everyone that Devon & Cornwall Police will address and learn from the issues raised in the IOPC recommendations.”