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A police inspector yesterday claimed he was sacked unfairly after accidentally posting a photo of his manhood on Facebook.

Daemon Johnson, 45, meant to send the picture of his privates to his girlfriend – but pressed the wrong button on his mobile phone and made it public.

The experienced officer, who has served his force for 25 years, was fired after stunned colleagues spotted the explicit image.

He is now considering appealing against his dismissal for gross misconduct.

Mr Johnson, who calls himself a “20th Century copper in a 21st Century force”, said: “It has been so dreadful having this hanging over my head for the past few months.

"I made a mistake on my phone keypad and I have paid for that mistake with my career.

“I have been inundated with messages of support from all over the place, a huge number of them from colleagues.

"But I’ve also had great support from ­­ordinary members of the public living in the areas in which I served.

“I feel choked thinking about it. I feel very humbled.

“Although I understand the Professional Standards panel decision, I consider it to be wholly disproportionate to the matters for which I was held to account.

“I have at no time been suspended and was actively engaged in policing right up to my dismissal.

“I have 25 years of excellent service and put in place a number of innovative community schemes in Northampton that benefit those who may be disadvantaged or at risk of harm.”

(Image: SWNS)

He tried to text the rude picture to his girlfriend after a 12-hour shift in April. But instead he published the image on her open Facebook page.

The blunder sparked an internal inquiry which led to him being sacked from his job with Northamptonshire Police last week.

He also faced allegations of making inappropriate comments to female staff, misuse of the force email system and improper behaviour.

Mr Johnson says he feels “embarrassed” by his mistake.

His 70-year-old father only found out about the story while watching a TV news bulletin.

Last week Superintendent Jan Meagher, Northamptonshire Police’s head of professional standards, confirmed Mr Johnson had been sacked.

Supt Meagher said: “The matters breached our standards of professional behaviour, namely ‘discreditable conduct’ and ‘equality and diversity’.

“The panel decided the most appropriate outcome was dismissal. We expect the highest standards from all our officers.

“We will take robust action where the standard expected has not been upheld. As with all disciplinary hearings, every officer has a right to appeal.”

Mr Johnson is not the first British police officer to lose their job because of indiscretions on the internet.

One policeman from Cheshire resigned in October 2010 after he was accused of harassing a former partner on Facebook.

And earlier this year four other officers with Northamptonshire Police were banned from using Twitter after they were caught sending inappropriate messages to each other.