Police Dog Handling Trio Claim Whistleblowing Discrimination

At a current Whistleblowing Tribunal case in Bristol, three female police dog handlers are claiming ‘sexist male colleagues’ harassed them after they spoke out about witnessing acts of mistreatment against police dogs, which included an instance where police officer Paul Nesbit-Bell allegedly threw a dog against a wall.

The three claimants have lodged a total of 95 claims against Avon and Somerset Police. One of the women, Mandy Gornicki, 51, asserts that she and her female colleagues were ‘ostracised’ within the police force and verbally abused by male peers behind their backs. The testimony of fellow claimants Ann-Marie Williams and Erica Martins will be heard at a later date during this six week tribunal. A fourth female officer was also allegedly harassed but is not participating in legal action.

Hostile Actions

Gornicki claims that the women’s act of whistleblowing began a generally hostile climate towards the three women, which included Ms Gorkicki being deliberately given a substandard kennel for a puppy she was training while her male peers were given brand new ones. A move that she claims was made in a bid to set her up to fail in her position as a dog handler. She also claims that to further hinder her performance she was deliberately given a dog with a behavioural disorder.

Ms Gornicki also says that officers made efforts to prevent her and her female colleagues from further whistleblowing actions by separating them during training courses.

During the tribunal Ms Gornicki was cross examined with the rebuttal that she has been exaggerating her testimony through overstated examples of treatment that was not exclusive to her.

Sexist Attitudes

In addition, Ms Gornicki, who has eighteen years of experience on the force, claims that sexist comments were frequently directed at the three women. This includes an occasion when chief inspector Paul Mogg allegedly suggested that women were less capable than men of handling themselves during a riot scenario; a comment made with particular malice as Gornicki and Martins had worked alongside male officers during a riot a short time before.

Ms Gornicki told the tribunal that this vengeful sexist attitude also extended to the acts of animal cruelty she witnessed both before and after her act of whistleblowing, declaring that such actions would not have happened in the presence of a male dog handler and were indented to intimidate her.

These allegations come at a difficult time for Avon and Somerset Police as its chief constable, Nick Gargan, is currently awaiting a misconduct hearing regarding alleged ‘inappropriate advances’ towards junior female officers.

The tribunal continues.