A top police officer who has appeared as a 'hunter' on Channel 4's Hunted show has been suspended over allegations he made sexist remarks to junior female officers.
Sergeant Shazad Sadiq, a temporary inspector with Durham Constabulary, is accused of making discriminatory comments which could amount to gross misconduct.
He was suspended on full pay in February and an investigation was launched by the force's Professional Standards Department. Ten months on, the investigation remains ongoing, with Sgt Sadiq under suspension.
It is understood that, among the allegations, Sgt Sadiq, 49, is accused of telling three female Police Community Support Officers that he did not expect them to have accounts on Only Fans, a website where users can subscribe to people often providing raunchy or pornographic content.
The women alleged they were singled out and men on the shift were not given the same warning.
Sgt Sadiq is also accused of making a derogatory comment towards a female PC about not being able to 'hide her sexuality' while gesturing his hands down her body, according to a source.
In another incident, he is alleged to have allocated the same officer to a woman who regularly went missing from her home who was 'struggling with her sexuality' and said the PC could 'relate to the female based on her sexuality' and would be a 'motherly figure'.
He is also accused of refusing to allow the same officer to pursue a Taser course because her 'hormones needed to settle' after a period of parental leave. It is understood Sgt Sadiq vehemently denies the allegations.
Sgt Sadiq has been a police officer for 28 years, working for the Metropolitan Police in London before moving to Durham in 2001. He has served as general secretary of the National Black Police Association and was chairman of the Durham Ethnic Minority Support Association.
In 2021, he began appearing as a hunter on Hunted, where police and intelligence personnel track down contestants 'on the run'. The contestants must reach an 'extraction point' if they survive 21 days on the run, and can win a share of £100,000.
Durham Constabulary said: 'In February, a sergeant was suspended pending an investigation into allegations surrounding potential breaches of standards of behaviour. That investigation remains ongoing.'
Channel 4 declined to comment.