The disciplinary tribunal of the British police has found a Merseyside officer guilty of multiple offenses, including taking selfies at a murder scene, taking photos of people in a mental health crisis, and sharing racist and homophobic images via WhatsApp, the Guardian reported
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th December, 2021) The disciplinary tribunal of the British police has found a Merseyside officer guilty of multiple offenses, including taking selfies at a murder scene, taking photos of people in a mental health crisis, and sharing racist and homophobic images via WhatsApp, the Guardian reported.
Ryan Connolly joined the Merseyside police department in January 2003. Since 2014, the officer has committed multiple violations for which he has been convicted of gross misconduct, the media said. Connolly resigned before a court hearing in November.
"Connolly had taken photographs of vulnerable people on his personal phone whilst on duty ... This breached the duty of confidence; lacked honesty and integrity, and through his discreditable conduct he has undermined public confidence," the media quoted Merseyside deputy chief constable Ian Critchley as saying.
The discipline panel held that Connolly stored racist photos and graphics, including of Muslim people; in 2015, the former police officer took a photo of an individual who had slashed the wrists; and in 2016 and 2017, he took photos of police detainees, sending them via WhatsApp; he even made a selfie while guarding the murder site where a teenager was stabbed to death, according to the media.
During questioning by detectives, Connolly said he could remember neither the way those pictures were downloaded and captured, nor the photos themselves, the media said. Connolly's phone was impounded in February 2020 by detectives from Merseyside's anti-corruption unit.
