A retired Beds Police officer has been awarded £209,188 compensation after claiming that he was made the subject of race discrimination and victimisation for three years.
Harmit Bahra brought the claims against the force in an employment tribunal case, which found in favour of the former officer.
Chief Constable Colette Paul said: “I must first offer my sincerest apologies to Mr Bahra and his family, who have endured a difficult and stressful time throughout this process.
“The force defended this case, however we have made the decision not to appeal the judgement in the hope that drawing a line under this will enable everybody involved to move on, preventing further stress to Mr Bahra and his family and further cost to the public purse, allowing the force to concentrate on our job of fighting crime and protecting the public.
“The force has learnt a great deal from this historical case and we are working hard to ensure that all lessons are being fully captured and considered as part of our continuous improvement work which will include consultation with key partners including the Police Federation and the Black Police Association.
“As Chair of our Equality and Human Rights Board, I take accusations of discrimination or victimisation within this force extremely seriously.
“We have been working for some time on independent oversight around race and diversity and the force is committed to focusing on race, disability and hate crime as a priority over the next twelve months. “I want to ensure that Bedfordshire Police is a fair and equitable organisation as we go forward, and learning from the past is a key part of this.
“We are seeking independent advice to consider if there are any disciplinary matters arising from this case.”