Three Met Police officers who were investigated for failing to report photos they received of two murdered sisters on WhatsApp have got away with a written warning.
Sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park, Kingsbury, in June 2020.
Former PCs Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis risked contamination of the Kingsbury crime scene, breaching the cordon to take six "inappropriate" and "unauthorised" photographs of the bodies which they then shared with friends and colleagues.
Jaffer, 47, of Hornchurch and Lewis, 33, from Essex, who were both attached to the Met’s North East command unit serving Newham and Waltham, were each jailed in December for two years and nine months having previously pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office for taking the photos.
On June 22 misconduct meetings were held for three PCs from the North East command unit who were investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for failing to report inappropriate photographs at the scene of a double murder.
These meetings, as governed by national police conduct regulations, were not held in public.
Led by a senior officer, the meetings were attended by the IOPC and a representative for the family.
The three officers, who had admitted misconduct, each received a written warning.
Satanist Danyal Hussein, 19, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years for murdering Ms Henry and Ms Smallman.
Commander Paul Brogden said: “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are, as always, with the family and friends of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry for their tragic loss.
“We are sorry for the truly despicable actions of PCs Jaffer and Lewis, and the behaviour of other officers, and how this has compounded the distress and suffering of the sisters’ loved ones.
“These matters, along with other high-profile cases in the Met, have been an urgent catalyst for change.
“We’re working hard to begin rebuilding the public’s trust and confidence that police officers will protect and respect them.”
A Met spokesperson added: “Significant steps we have taken to start real change across the organisation include asking Baroness Casey of Blackstock to lead an independent review into our culture and standards and an increase in the number of investigators in our professional standards directorate to root out those who abuse their positions of trust.”
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