Three cops from the same squad have been found guilty of gross misconduct after subjecting colleagues to racist, sexist and bullying behaviour for three years.
Inspector Nick Mantle, PC Mark Jordan-Gill and PC Paul Perdrisat were described as "testosterone-fuelled, neanderthal thugs" whose behaviour belonged in the 1980s.
Three men, who all worked for Dorset Police, pinned up a Nazi-theme poster in the station, called a black motorist a c**n in a road rage incident and videoed a colleague with a nervous tick for laughs.
Another officer was called a "c***" by Perdrisat who also made him down a glass full of salty water.
He was forced to quit the Force Support Group unit after six months at which point Perdrisat messaged him to say he was "glad you are gone" and that it was his job to weed out the "weakest link".
The bullying culture they created was so bad it led one officer to contemplate suicide.
Much of the shocking and appalling behaviour was played out in messages in a Whatsapp group called "The Real FSG".
Mantle, Jordan-Gill and Perdrisat - who has since left Dorset Police - were found guilty of gross misconduct after a disciplinary hearing.
Mantle and Jordan-Gill now face dismissal.
PCs Michael Lowther and Matthew Young were found to be guilty of misconduct and received written warnings.
Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Raya, of Dorset Police, apologised to the public for the conduct of the officers.
She said: "Any behaviour demonstrating traits of prejudice/negative bias against a person will not be tolerated in our organisation and, as this case has demonstrated, we will swiftly and robustly investigate any offences reported to us.
"Following a detailed investigation by our Professional Standards Department, this matter was referred to the independently chaired panel, which made the decision three of the individuals were guilty of gross misconduct and two were found of misconduct.
"We respect the decision of the panel and await the remaining sanctions.
"The public quite rightly expects the highest standards of behaviour from serving police officers and staff as this is a core component of maintaining the trust of our communities. I am sorry that the behaviour of these officers let you down.
"We are committed to investigating any unethical or unacceptable behaviour relating to a member of our organisation and I would encourage you to report them to the Force so they can be thoroughly investigated."
The hearing heard the atmosphere of "racist, homophobic and sexist" behaviour happened between 2018 and 2021 and would have "shocked any member of the public".
The Force Support Group was based at Bournemouth police station.
One officer told the hearing of how he was bullied by members of the Force Support Group so much so that he developed a nervous tick which the squad cruelly filmed to laugh at him.
The officer, called Witness C, described how PC Perdrisat had led the others in mocking him, on one occasion forcing him to drink a glass of salty water in front of the other members of the squad.
The officer said: "It was like going back to Neanderthal times.
"Then there were all the posters on the walls. Some of them were borderline for me. It's the sort of thing you might have expected 30 or 40 years ago.
"They were testosterone fuelled thugs. Everything I did wrong I got put down for. I got a really bad tick because of the pressure and stress I was under.
"The team filmed me when I was doing it. It just got worse and worse and worse.
"It's a medical thing that was happening because of the stress. If any supervisor had tried to supervise (the team) it would have been very difficult.
"I was driving to Winchester Prison. It's an old prison and as I was driving the van in and I got it slightly wrong.
"The vehicle touched a wall and getting it out caused more damage. That's why I was called a c**t. I believe it was Paul Perdrisat that said it.
"There was an alpha male - PC Perdrisat. He was the main leader and then Mark Jordan-Gill looked up to him. They were very close."
Another officer, known only as Witness A, recalled how PC Perdrisat had told him that he picked "on the weakest link to get rid of them".
He said: "It was a toxic atmosphere and PC Perdrisat was the alpha male.
"I just didn't want to come to work. Everything you did was just not good enough.
"I didn't want to get up in the morning. I thought about taking my own life."
He told the hearing about coming into the police station and his shock at discovering a Nazi-themed poster on the wall of the station.
He said: "I came in and I remember someone saying you won't believe this.
"There was wall art. One was an A4 piece of paper with half a dozen men bare-chested with shaven heads.
"It looked like they were in a prison and they had Swastikas and they were doing the Nazi salute.
"It was taken down after one or two days. I was incredibly shocked when I saw that picture. I don't know who put it up. There were so many different wall arts."
During another incident, the officer was in a patrol van with one of the accused, PC Mark Jordan-Gill, when he heard him shout out racist abuse at a motorist.
He added: "We were driving in a van towards Tuckton. We were slowing down to let someone out in front of us and PC Jordan-Gill shouted out 'Just hurry up you c**n'."
*If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
A previous version of the article contained a caption under a photograph, which erroneously stated that PC Michael Lowther was found guilty of gross misconduct. In fact, as explained in the text of the article, PC Lowther admitted he was guilty of misconduct, not gross misconduct. We are happy to clarify this.
