Anthony Moore, who has since left the force, was a police constable in the South East Command Unit which polices Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley.
On February 6 this year he was the subject of a misconduct hearing relating to a number of videos and images found on his phone.
He did not attend the misconduct hearing but denied the allegations.
It was alleged that before former police constable (FPC) Moore joined the force he was a member of a WhatsApp group called Laura’s Dirt Box where on January 9, 2018, an indecent video involving a child was shared.
When another person made an inappropriate comment about the video FPC Moore replied with three laughing emojis.
Then on December 29, 2019, FPC Moore allegedly sent the same indecent video to a WhatsApp group called Night Shifters.
He had also received an extreme pornographic video in March 2020, whilst two more extremely violent videos were found on his phone – one showing acts of mutilation and the other depicting extreme violence.
The panel decided that because FPC Moore had allegedly shared the imagery before he joined the force, it went beyond their jurisdiction.
However, they concluded that by having retained the videos on his phone whilst he was a serving police officer he had committed gross misconduct.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, chairing the misconduct hearing, said: “Engaging in a message exchange which involved an image/video as described [the video involving a child], and leaving a comment in the form of laughing emojis, had the effect of appearing as though you condone the contents of the video, and suggests you were aware of the image.”
AC Taylor concluded: “FPC Moore’s conduct was intentional and deliberate in that he engaged in WhatsApp chats with members of the public that contained obscene images. These images were retained on his phone handset, and he did not delete them.
“He was fully aware that retaining such imagery would be unacceptable as a serving police officer. Such actions can only have the effect of damaging public confidence in policing.”
It was agreed that if FPC Moore had not already left the force he would have been dismissed without notice.
He will be added to the College of Policing’s barred list.
