Two Met officers ‘sorry beyond measure for the pain caused’ after ‘taking selfies with bodies of murdered sisters’
TWO cops charged with taking selfies with the bodies of two slain sisters in a park are “sorry beyond measure”, a court heard today.
PC Deniz Jaffer and PC Jamie Lewis allegedly took the photos while guarding the scene where Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman were stabbed to death in Wembley last June.
The images were then shared on Whatsapp with police later informed of allegations of “non-official and inappropriate photographs”, it is said.
Jaffer and Lewis, who have both been suspended from duty, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.
The officers are both charged with charged with misconduct in public office.
Their lawyer Luke Ponte said: “There is an indication to be given and it’s an indication of a guilty plea on behalf of both defendants.”
He added: “They are sorry beyond measure for the pain that they have caused.”
The charge states each “misconducted” themselves “in a way which amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder by without authorisation, entering a crime scene he had been assigned to protect, sending information about his attendance at the scene to members of the public via WhatsApp and taking photographs of the crime scene.”
Jaffer and Lewis – based at the Met Police’s North East Command – were bailed to appear at the Old Bailey on June 24 to formally enter pleas.
PARK STABBING
Sisters Bibaa, 46, and Nicole, 27, were discovered stabbed to death in Fryent Country Park on June 6.
They had been in the park with pals celebrating Bibaa’s birthday but stayed behind at the end of the party.
The sisters were reported missing the next day hours before their bodies were discovered.
Danyal Hussein, 18, is due to stand trial next month accused of murdering the pair.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog launched a probe into claims police officers took “non-official and inappropriate photographs” of the crime scene before sharing them on WhatsApp.
Jaffer and Lewis were arrested on June 22 last year by the IOPC and suspended from duty.
Most read in News
Bibaa and Nicole’s mother, Mina Smallman, said of the allegations: “This has taken our grief to another place.
“If ever we needed an example of how toxic it has become, those police officers felt so safe, so untouchable, that they felt they could take photographs of dead black girls and send them on.
“It speaks volumes of the ethos that runs through the Metropolitan Police.”
