By IANS,
London : An ethnic minority officer of the London Metropolitan Police (Met), who supported colleagues accusing the police chief of racism, has been suspended following a probe into charges that he had ‘coached’ a hit-and-run suspect to escape criminal prosecution.
Commander Ali Dizaei is alleged to have acted as a consultant to point out weaknesses in a 2005 case brought by the Met against a woman accused of leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run. He says the complaint is malicious.
The investigation began after a complaint was made directly to Met chief Sir Ian Blair. He is currently in the eye of a race storm with a series of racial discrimination charges levelled against him by his senior officers of Asian origin, reports The Independent.
Commander Dizaei, in his authority as president of the National Black Police Association, had openly supported the ‘victim’ officers.
This is the second time Dizaei has been suspended. The first was in 2001 when there were claims he had taken illegal drugs, consorted with prostitutes and was a danger to national security.
The investigation, which was led by Blair, cost four million pounds ($7 million). However, when the case came to trial in 2003, Dizaei was cleared by a jury in a unanimous decision.
Earlier, the most senior Asian officer in the force, deputy commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, was suspended by the police chief on disciplinary grounds. Ghaffur has filed a racial discrimination case against his chief, which is to come to hearing shortly.
Dizaei was also outspoken in his support of Ghaffur.