A STOCKPORT councillor’s career is hanging in the balance after he was convicted of racially abusing a police officer.
Lib-Dem representative for Brinnington and Central ward, Christian Walker, 34, has been suspended from the party after he went on a six-hour bender and slurred racist abuse at PC Patrick Mullhill, who is of Chinese descent.
Walker had pleaded not guilty to racially aggravated harassment at Trafford Magistrates on Monday, but was found guilty, fined £200 and ordered to pay £300 costs.
Now the councillor must stand before the full party to defend his actions in order to remain the Lib-Dem representative for the ward.
However, local residents and fellow councillors have called for his resignation, after he commented in court that ‘yelping and yodelling’ was normal behaviour for some of the people in his ward.
Stockport’s Labour leader Coun Peter Scott said Walker should ‘do the decent thing’ and step down, adding: "If he had any decency, he’d quit."
Speaking after the case, Coun Walker said: "I’m just glad to have finally got out from under this court case that has been looming over me for the last few months. I’m going to get some flak now, but most of my constituents know I’m not really a nasty person."
Coun Walker had been on a work do at the Bambooza nightclub, where he paid £10 to drink ‘as much as you can’.
He described himself as ‘plastered’ and ‘wrecked’ when he went to Tesco in Portwood at 2am and tried to buy more alcohol.
The store refused to serve him, and as a row broke out, PC Mullhill was called over to help.
"On telling him his speech was slurred, his eyes were glazed and he was intoxicated, he replied, ‘well you’ve got slitty eyes’," the officer told the court.
"It’s a racist insult and I was very upset and shocked that he had said it in my face."
Walker of Northumberland Road, Brinnington, was arrested and taken to Cheadle Heath police station where he called Pc Mulhill a ‘homosexual’ in an attempt to ‘wind him up’.
The court also heard Walker had been ‘yodelling’ and ‘yelping’ in Tesco. Asked if that was normal, he told the court: "If you represented the ward that I represent you would understand there are people for whom that is normal behaviour."
Defending, Andrew Evans, said his client had intended the words as ‘banter’ but accepted they were misguided.
Mr Evans said: "This was not someone showing hostility on the basis of membership of a racial group, but cheek gone wrong."
Coun Walker won his seat from Labour veteran Maureen Knowles. Commenting on his conviction, she said: "This is disgraceful, and I’m appalled that someone in his position should behave in such a manner. To say this drunken behaviour is typical of people of Brinnington is just not acceptable. He is supposed to be for the people of Brinnington, not against them."
And other members of the community went further, calling for him to resign.
Eric Forshaw, a volunteer at Brinnington Community Centre said: "It’s a sad reflection that the councillor is under the impression people in his constituency behave like he does after alcohol. He has let everyone down."
Bob Kersley added: "Someone in a position of responsibility should be setting a better example to his constituents."
Showing comments 1 to 7 and replies | View All
Ben Davies (29/10/2008 at 11:19)
It takes one to know one Councillor Walker!
Roy Gregory, Exile (31/10/2008 at 12:34)
Ken Wood (31/10/2008 at 15:47)
Donald, manchester (01/11/2008 at 16:49)
Kerry Waters (02/11/2008 at 14:15)
Roy Gregory, Exile (03/11/2008 at 15:22)
Kerry W; he’s a Lib-Dem, so that’s quite understandable.
Sorry to hear that you’re disgraced, though.
KnowledgeSeeker, West London (12/11/2008 at 02:25)
It seems to me that Walker got done for harassment, because he was blind drunk causing a public nuisance in Tesco's, and wouldn't stop being a fool. A police officer tried to deal with it, and when he was explaining his observation of Walker's condition to him, instead of realising the seriousness of the situation, Walker just tried to distract from his own drunkeness by making a completely inappropriate reference to the officer's ethnicity. It wasn't necessarily hostile, but could be considered mailcious in the context, and was certainly ill-willed. There is no occasion on which anyone refers to human beings as 'slitty-eyed' with good will, is there?
The yodelling and yelping probably went to show Walker's continued contempt for the police officer while he tried to do his duty. But it was the 'homosexual' comment at the police station that sank Walker. He obviously had no respect for the police officer, intentionally brought up his ethinicity in an attempt to deflect from his own drunkeness, and then tried to wind him up at the station later, in front of other officers no doubt. The 2nd act allowed a prosecution for harassment.
Walker's choice of words seem to be quite fascistic if u ask me. I'm not saying he's a racist, or a white supremacist, or a nazi. But he certainly don't know when to shut up, does he?
Secondly, to Roy, why are you sure that the officer is tough and bright enough not to have felt personally insulted? If one is courageous and intelligent, does that somehow make one immune to racist slurs? Feeling insulted by racism doesn't make you weak or dumb, it makes you a normal human being. And in any case, PC Mulhill was quoted in the article saying "It’s a racist insult and I was very upset and shocked that he had said it in my face." Are you calling him a liar and a perjurer?
Let's not make excuses. Oh it was just a drunken night out, oh he didn't mean anything by it, etc. No, the man thought it was appropriate to racially insult a police officer, and then wind him up with taunts about his sexuality. It was wrong for any ordinary person, but especially wrong for someone in public office. He got a conviction, and a small fine. There should be a process by which he can be impeached for his conduct. It's not the most important case in the world, but rules is rules.