A Metropolitan Police officer who mocked the Leicester City helicopter tragedy has been dismissed from his job and hit with a football banning order. DC Gordon Irikefe shouted "helicopter" during a Leicester City match - an apparent reference to the 2018 crash that killed five people, including the club's chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
DC Irikefe, who was attached to the Met's Central South Command Unit, was found guilty of football hooliganism following a pattern of disorderly behavior, said police. The misconduct hearing, held on Thursday, February 20, focused on his actions at a Bayern Munich v Arsenal match where he lit and threw a pyrotechnic into the crowd on Wednesday, April 17, last year.
A series of incidents led to his dismissal, including the February 2023 "tragedy chanting" at the Leicester City match. The helicopter crash in October 2018 also killed passengers Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner, Izabela Roza Lechowicz.
READ MORE: The 12 horrific minutes of Leicester City's helicopter tragedy
The officer appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday (Monday, February 24) where a three-year football banning order was imposed. The court heard evidence of his repeated disorderly and anti-social behavior at football matches, including making lewd gestures, shouting abuse at a substitute player, and "masking up" to conceal his identity.
The officer had been under investigation for multiple instances of hooliganism at football matches since October 2022, according to police.
Detective Superintendent Emma Bond, in charge of policing for the Central South area, said: "DC Irikefe has shown an unacceptable pattern of behaviour at football matches, for anyone, let alone a police officer who should uphold the highest of standards whether on or off duty."
She added: "His actions have not only seen him now subject to a football banning order, but have also cost him his job. I am grateful to professional standards and football unit colleagues for pulling together the evidence in this case to ensure we have been able to take decisive action."
DC Irikefe resigned on Wednesday, February 12, but was still a serving officer when his misconduct hearing was held. Following his dismissal, he will be placed on the barred list held by the College of Policing, preventing him from being employed by police, local policing bodies, the Independent Office for Police Conduct or His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
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