Met Police detective who sent racist messages keeps job

Detective Sergeant Victoria Teagle sent messages to her ex-partner, Sergeant Nicolaou, calling one of her female colleagues a “slutty ch*nk”. 

A misconduct hearing was told that DS Teagle was jealous of the female colleague because Sgt Nicolaou had “reputation for being promiscuous”. 

The female colleague who DS Teagle repeatedly referred to as “ch*nk” is white, but the panel said DS Teagle used the slur because “she perceived her to have small and slanted eyes”. 

But DS Teagle denied that the term was intended as a racial slur, instead claiming that where she grew up in North London it meant “cheap or tacky”. 

The messages were sent between January and April 2021, and DS Teagle was later reported by Sgt Nicolaou. 

At a misconduct hearing held in October 2023, DS Teagle expressed remorse and explained that the messages were sent in the midst of a toxic relationship that ended in a messy divorce. 

The panel concluded that she was guilty of gross misconduct but decided not to dismiss DS Teagle, instead issuing a final written warning to last three years.