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Offensive messages were found on the phone of former Gwent Police officer Ricky Jones, who took his own life in 2020
Gwent Police officers joked about gay and trans people and shared messages depicting women being degraded and assaulted, a misconduct hearing has been told.
The force's professional standards panel said police constables James Heley and Simon Lewis would have been sacked if they had not resigned at the end of last week.
Chief Constable Mark Hobrough called the messages "vile" and "shocking" and said the former officers "brought shame" on the force.
Opening the case, John-Paul Waite, representing the force's Professional Standards Department, told the panel Heley shared and received messages that objectified women, made fun of gay and transgender people and mocked people "on the basis of their race".
The hearing was told the messages were "offensive, derogatory and disrespectful" and that Heley had "failed to challenge and report such conduct".
Within one WhatsApp group, messages repeatedly used offensive terms to describe gay people, as well as racist language.
The panel was told Heley claimed he had not read the messages in the group but Waite said the authority believed it was most likely that he had read them.
'Undermines public trust'
Lewis was said to have also been part of the same two WhatsApp groups, sharing messages that ridiculed transgender women and people of South East Asian origin and contained offensive terms against gay people.
The panel was told "the managing of public trust in the police service and upholding of standards lie at the heart of this case" and the "need for women to have trust in the police is a legitimate current, social concern".
Waite added: "It is important that officers do challenge misconduct when they see it and if they do not, it contributes to a perception that policing is a chauvinistic boys' club and undermines public trust and confidence."
The two officers resigned from the force on Friday but the process continued without them.
The panel found all allegations against Lewis were proven, at a level of gross misconduct, with two out of three of the allegations against Heley proven in full at gross misconduct, with a third proven in part.
Both would have been dismissed without notice, if they had not resigned, the panel decided.
They will be put on the police barred list, meaning they will not be able to work as police officers again.
Hobrough said the actions of the former officers "brought shame to our organisation and have undermined public trust".
"In recent years, we have made significant progress in rooting out misconduct and driving substantial cultural change," he said.
"My mission is to restore trust with our communities by building an inclusive organisation that genuinely cares for and engages with everyone in our communities.
"I am committed to leading a police service which stands against racism, homophobia and misogyny."
