‘Maverick’ ex-police sergeant called himself 'Daddy' in toxic team WhatsApp chat, court told

‘Maverick’ ex-police sergeant called himself 'Daddy' in toxic team WhatsApp chat, court told Ex-police sergeant Paul Street, 41, asked for a sex clip from a 'fit' female suspect's phone, punched a suspect and bullied a teenage detainee while leading a Cambridgeshire team, a court heard A “maverick” cop who punched a suspect, bullied a teen in custody and asked for a sex clip from a “fit” female suspect’s phone fostered a “toxic” culture in his team over WhatsApp, a court was told. Paul Street, 41, is on trial at the Old Bailey for a string of offences allegedly committed while working at Cambridgeshire Constabulary as a police sergeant. The trial heard how Street was leading a team based at Cambourne Police Station, mainly dealing with county lines drug supply and organised crime in 2021 - his “robust” style led to “impressive results” in tackling serious crime. But anti-corruption officers swooped on Street in 2021, seizing his phones and uncovering two WhatsApp groups demonstrating a “toxic” work environment. Prosecutor Anne Whyte KC said Street had “created a culture of bragging and intolerance towards suspects”, and a “zero-tolerance attitude to anyone on his team who disagreed with his methods and sentiments”. A WhatsApp group called Impact Team had been created in 2018 and included 17 colleagues. Later Street made a smaller group called Inner Circle which was used to share “highly negative and inappropriate” comments about other officers, the court heard. Street allegedly assaulted Samuel Kayode in 2020 after he ran from the officer in an attempt to evade arrest. When Street caught up with him, Mr Kayode felt a sharp pain to his face, was knocked to the ground and punched in the face, jurors heard. Street then allegedly took a “trophy” photograph of the injured suspect on the ground and sent it to the Impact Team WhatsApp group. Referring to himself as “Daddy”, he allegedly wrote: “He had a disagreement with my baton and then my fist.” A new team member reported the WhatsApp comments and Street told members to clear the chat, jurors heard. Street allegedly wrote a message to the Inner Circle chat saying: “Just a shame we have snakes as we are all such good mates.” In a statement about the incident, Street claimed Mr Kayode had run at him and he had acted in self defence. As a result of the complaint, Street was issued with an action plan but stayed in his post, the court heard. Mr Kayode, who later made a formal complaint, was jailed after pleading guilty to possession of drugs with intent to supply. In April 2020, a 17-year-old boy was arrested and strip searched, the court heard. Street allegedly referred to him as an “absolute gobshite”, saying he would like to bully him “relentlessly” and encouraged another officer to “please hit him”. He recorded a video of himself addressing the suspect saying police were going his mother’s house to “rip it apart”, the court heard. Street allegedly told his partner: “Had a rumble with our drug dealer in the cell today. Little rat has proper pressed my buttons today.” The boy was charged with possession of Class A drugs and using insulting words and behaviour for which he was fined a total of £300. In the autumn of 2020, Pc Josh Williams, 38, was tasked with examining the phone of a female suspect he told Street was “quite fit”, the court heard. Street allegedly asked him if there were “any nudes”, and Williams replied there was a video of the woman committing a sexual act. The WhatsApp chat demonstrated that Williams took a photo from the woman’s phone depicting her in underwear and forwarded it to Street. No charges were brought against the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons. The following year, Street asked on WhatsApp if Williams still had the intimate private video. Williams replied: “I doubt it mate sorry. You exhausted all other porn?”, to which Street allegedly said he wanted to show “the lads from footy”. When he was interviewed about it, Street claimed he wanted to see the images to reassure himself that the woman was not the victim of exploitative behaviour. But Ms Whyte told jurors: “It was no part of Josh Williams’ job to reveal and discuss private images and potentially an explicit private video. It was no part of Paul Street’s job to ask for nudes, to look at the images and later to ask for the video.” Williams, from Huntingdon, pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office for his part in sending intimate photos describing the video, jurors were told. Ms Whyte said Street’s WhatsApp chat showed he made regular reference to bullying suspects and “set the tone” for junior officers. She told jurors: “It may be that Paul Street will try to depict himself as a maverick, unorthodox officer whose own particular brand of messaging is one big institutional joke. But being able to point to a successful arrest rate does not justify the way in which Paul Street went about his job in 2020 and 2021. He lost all sight of how to conduct himself. “The truth of the matter is that he liked to run his team in his own way and that despite his action plan, he was out of control. “He broke the rules repeatedly and chose to ignore the fact that in doing so, he was not just dishonouring the trust that the public should have in the police, but he was behaving precisely like the criminals he loved to despise.” Street, of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, has denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm, perverting the course of justice and two offences of misconduct in public office. The Old Bailey trial continues.