Two Metropolitan Police officers have admitted to taking, altering and sharing images of two sisters who were found dead in a London park this year.
PC Deniz Jaffer, 47, and PC Jamie Lewis, 33, shared images of the two women – Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman – after their bodies were found in Wembley, north west London, the Old Bailey court heard. The officers’ roles were to secure the scene.
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As part of an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) criminal investigation, both Jaffer and Lewis pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office in court on Tuesday, after breaching a cordon to take the photos and sharing the “inappropriate” images on Whatsapp.
Jaffer took four photos, while Lewis took two photos including one with Lewis’ face superimposed onto it, shared with a woman colleague.
Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman were stabbed to death in June. Danyal Hussein, a teenager who believed he was taking part in a satanic contract to kill the sisters, has been charged with murder and is set to stand trial later this year.
In a statement, the Met police said: “As soon as this matter came to light, the MPS took action on the North East Command to remind officers of their responsibilities in using WhatsApp and other social media channels.”
“Local senior management spoke to officers on the command to outline what is expected of them in terms of their behaviour as well as encouraging anyone who has a concern about a colleague’s behaviour to come forward.”
The admission of misconduct comes as the Metropolitan police face increased scrutiny after Wayne Couzens, a serving police officer, was convicted for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard this year. Couzens used his police ID to coerce Everard into his vehicle in May after she was walking home from a friend’s house.
