Police chiefs withdrew a hate crime awareness course that let suspected perpetrators escape punishment for tweeting.
Hampshire Constabulary was one of three forces in the nation to run the two-hour teaching seminars.
A 51-year-old army veteran was given the restorative justice course after retweeting a meme, causing uproar.
Police told him he may escape prosecution if he participated before they investigated.
He was discharged without additional punishment.
Donna Jones, Hampshire’s Tory PCC, said Sunday that she is cancelling the program’s contract. Campaigners, including a former police officer detained during the incident, praised the decision as a triumph against ‘woke coppers’
She told The Telegraph, ‘I inherited a restorative justice contract last year, and the hate-crime training was part of it.’
I’ve chosen not to give this hate-crime awareness training in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The adjustment must be prepared but will happen soon.
When someone is targeted and abused because of their protected features and the occurrence meets the standard for a hate crime, offenders may anticipate police action. Important.’
An army veteran was imprisoned for ‘causing anxiety’ after retweeting a Pride flag swastika.
Darren Brady, 51, said Hampshire Police ‘impeded his right to free expression’ after handcuffing him at his Aldershot home for posting the image.
Footage of the arrest was widely circulated on social media, showing an officer telling Mr. Brady his tweet had ‘created fear’ and been reported to authorities.
Mr. Brady retweeted a digitally edited swastika formed from four LGBT pride flags.
In the cellphone footage, Mr. Brady asks the three cops, ‘Why am I handcuffed?’
One cop says, “This wasn’t necessary.”
Mr. Brady answered, “Tell us why you escalated it; I don’t understand.”
The officer continues, “Your social media post generated worry.” So you’re arrested.’
Former police officer Harry Miller was arrested after stating he sought to stop the detention.
‘We appreciate the PCC’s involvement, but police should never have acted as judge and jury,’ he told MailOnline today.
The public doesn’t need moral and political guardians who are awake cops.’
Mr Miller tweeted: ‘I was locked up and missed this dialogue. I’m dumbfounded.
Mr Miller, who won a Court of Appeal appeal against police guidelines on ‘hate incidents’ in December, said officers visited the man 10 days earlier and told him he could attend an £80 education session to avoid arrest and possible criminal charges.
The veteran needed time to think before the cops agreed to return.
Mr Brady said on Twitter: ‘It’s good to be free to spend a Sunday morning in peace without being bothered by Hampshire Police attempting to extort money from me or have me’re-educated’ for posting a meme online.’
Mr Brady tweeted a meme by actor-turned-campaigner Laurence Fox on social media.
Mr Fox believes LGBT pride month is ‘enforced with hectoring tyranny’
Mr Brady phoned Mr Miller and Mr Fox before police returned on Thursday. The couple manage the Bad Law initiative to ‘depoliticize’ police.
They promised to visit and were there when cops returned.
Mr Miller alleges the ex-serviceman rejected the training, resulting to his detention.
Hampshire Constabulary claimed officers were stopped from entering to negotiate a settlement.
Officers arrested a guy at the site to question him about the suspected crime.
Mr Miller put himself between the policemen and the veteran, telling them, ‘You arrest him, come through me.’
He was also detained for obstructing police and freed pending investigation. He called it “one of the finest moments of my life.”
In a different video, Mr Miller is carried to a police vehicle in handcuffs and an officer asks, ‘Do you have anything that might damage me or you?’
Mr. Miller responds, “My razor-sharp wit and legal expertise.”
Mr Fox’s film shows the actor accusing cops of becoming the Gestapo.
Mr Miller won a Court of Appeal case against police instructions on ‘hate incidents’ in December, arguing it violates free speech.
Humberside Police colleagues confronted the ‘gender critical’ former officer in January 2020 about suspected transphobic tweets.
The police logged the complaint as a ‘non-crime hate event,’ which is described as ‘any non-crime act judged to be motivated by animosity or prejudice’
Mr. Miller, from Lincolnshire, challenged Humberside Police’s actions and the College of Policing’s instructions in court.
A judge determined the force’s actions were a ‘disproportionate interference’ with his right to free speech.
Mr Fox returned to Twitter on Thursday, unapologetic for tweeting the joke.
Twitter briefly suspended Fox’s account for breaking their ‘hateful images’ policy, while a London Assembly member called on the Met Police to investigate.
Restorative Solutions offers courses in North and West Yorkshire.
Hampshire Constabulary said that officers stated the hate-crime awareness course would be provided as an option to prosecution if the alleged offence was accepted.