7:00am Saturday 16th January 2010
By Steve Wright
A police community support officer has been suspended from duty after he posed with ‘guns’ on a social networking website.
A cache of imitation firearms was among items recovered by police from Daniel Williams’ home in Otley after they were alerted about the Facebook images.
Williams, 21, was arrested on Thursday morning and held in custody overnight while officers investigated whether any offences had been committed.
He was released yesterday afternoon with a caution for an offence of theft. The offence relates to police property.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the PCSO, who is based at Ilkley police station and covers Addingham and Silsden, has been suspended pending the outcome of internal disciplinary proceedings.
The police raid came after they became aware of the images on Williams’ Facebook site, which showed him posing with two handguns.
The photo appeared to show him dressed as Agent 47, a hired assassin from the Hitman series of computer games, recently adapted into a film.
He was also shown posing with what appeared to be a sniper’s rifle. The firearms are believed to be replicas.
Police swooped on his home on Thursday morning.
A national newspaper claimed police removed a cache of weapons, including imitation firearms, a sword, crossbows and harpoons.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed: “We are aware of this issue, and on Thursday morning a 21-year-old man was arrested and a number of imitation firearms were seized from an address in the Otley area.”
It is understood ballistic experts are investigating whether the weapons were capable of being re-commissioned for use.
It is not an offence to have such weapons at home, or pose with them for photographs.
The spokesman added: “The man has been cautioned for the offence of theft, which relates to police property.
“He is suspended pending the outcome of further internal disciplinary proceedings. Inquiries are ongoing into the firearms.”
Williams trained as a PCSO at Wakefield and joined the Keighley West Ward Neighbourhood Policing Team, in the Airedale and North Bradford Police division, in 2007, when he was 19.
In July of that year he moved to the Craven Ward of the NPT and two months later he joined the team covering Addingham and Silsden and based at Ilkley police station.
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