UK - A senior Scotland Yard officer was found guilty today of threatening and falsely arresting a man in a petty row over money. He was sentenced to four years in Jail.

Met Commander Commander Ali Dizaei, a leading anti-racism activist and former president of the National Black Police Association, was convicted by a jury of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice after two and a half hours deliberation.

Mr Justice Simon described the offences as a "grave breach of public trust".

"This sentence needs to send a clear message that police officers of whatever rank are not above the law."

He then jailed Commander Ali Dizaei for four years for threatening and falsely arresting a man in a petty row over money.

The court heard Waad Al-Baghdadi, 24, was arrested by Dizaei in 2008 during a row over £600-00 work on the officer's website.

The dispute between the men came to a head when Mr Al-Baghdadi demanded payment from Britain's most senior Asian officer for work on his personal website, alidizaei.com.

The conviction will almost certainly end Dizaei’s 24-year career in the police.

Responding to the verdict, Nick Hardwick of the IPCC said: "He [Dizaei} went on to lie about what had happened and, if he had been successful, Mr Al-Baghdadi may have been sent to prison.

"Dizaei behaved like a bully and the only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them."

Mr Hardwick continued: "Corruption comes in many forms and remains a threat to the police service. It requires constant vigilance to fight it."

Last November Dizaei was cleared of misusing his corporate credit card.