BBC News, Yorkshire
Steve Jones/BBCA police officer who followed a woman in his car as she walked along a street with her child has been sentenced for harassment.
Raza Mahmood, who works for West Yorkshire Police in the Calderdale area, was given a 12-month community order, including 80 hours of unpaid work, and fined £764 at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court earlier.
The court was told Mahmood, of College Terrace in Halifax, was off duty and in his own car when he followed the woman and shouted: “Oi, come over here.”
District Judge James Gould said the 33-year-old’s behaviour had “undermined public confidence in the police service, particularly among members of society who are vulnerable and look to the police for support”.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said the incident in Halifax on the evening of 26 March 2024 had left her “really scared and paranoid”.
“I honestly thought that the man was going to physically hurt me or kidnap me.”
Married father-of-two Mahmood was said to have shouted at the woman before driving off in his car and then returning, following her on at least four occasions.
The court heard the woman phoned her partner to ask him to pick her up, rather than complete her journey in the dark on foot.
“I find myself always looking over my shoulder when I’m out,” she said in the statement.
“He can’t, and should not, be trusted around girls and shouldn’t be a police officer.”
The woman’s statement went on to say that she felt “let down” by the police over their response.
Mahmood remains employed by the force, although he has been suspended from duty and will face internal misconduct proceedings now the criminal case against him has concluded.
His barrister, Sam Roxborough, said Mahmood’s conviction for harassment “will see him lose his career”.
“He’s clearly someone who valued that job, he had worked hard to become a police officer.
“It was a job that he took great pride in and it was one he took a great deal of time in achieving.”
‘Profound consequences’
Mr Roxborough said his client, who had no previous convictions, still denied committing the offence despite being found guilty at a trial last month.
“He doesn’t know this complainant, has never met her before [and] has never met her since.”
Sentencing, Judge Gould said Mahmood’s continued denial of the offence meant he had shown “no insight into the harm that offending of this type can cause”.
“You have not revealed your motivation for this offending, but it’s entirely clear that your self portrait as a family man is at odds with your harassment of a vulnerable family.”
Imposing a five-year restraining order prohibiting Mahmood from contacting the victim, Judge Gould added: “The consequences of this conviction for you will be profound, but also for your career and for your family.
“But, of course, you have brought that entirely on yourself.”
