Mum’s fury at way police watchdog was hampered in its investigation into police officers in Eltham murderer’s case
The mother of two sisters murdered by Eltham teenager Danyal Hussein has expressed her fury at the way two cops handled the crime scene.
Mina Smallman was speaking outside the Old Bailey after two officers pleaded guilty to taking pictures of her daughter’s bodies. One superimposed his own head on the body of one of the women.
PC Deniz Jaffer, 47, from Hornchurch, and PC Jamie Lewis, 33, from Colchester, distributed the images of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman after they were stabbed to death in Fryent Country Park.
Last week Hussein, 19, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years for murdering Ms Henry and 27-year-old Ms Smallman.
The sisters had been celebrating Ms Henry’s 46th birthday when they were repeatedly stabbed by Hussein.
The two cops pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office. They have been told to expect prison.
The sisters’ mother said outside the Old Bailey this morning: “It was the final straw – you go to London to prepare funeral for your daughters and you’re forced to have a meeting to tell you that police officers that should have been protecting the area had actually been taking selfies and sending them to dentist and a doctor on a WhatsApp group.
“There are details to do with the case which we cannot reveal. But I would like to thank the the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) especially – and Graham who had to come and give us the information of what had happened. His emotional body language told it all – he was horrified and almost in tears.
“He’s not speaking today because he does not think he’ll be able to get through without being emotional. You can see see when people are invested and 1 people are just doing their job.
“If I had a message today it is the the IOPC is seriously hampered by the Met and whichever police force there investigating. There are laws that don’t allow them to do a thoroughly independent report. They cannot arrest or go into a building and take information – they’re at the mercy of when the Met says what they can do. How is that independent?
IOPC Regional Director Sal Naseem said: “As always, my thoughts and sympathies remain with the family and friends of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.
“Their deaths have caused unimaginable heartache, loss and grief.
“The actions of PC Jamie Lewis and former officer Deniz Jaffer, were sickening. They should have been protecting a crime scene but instead they treated it with contempt and disrespect.
“In doing so they insulted Nicole and Bibaa, their families, their loved ones, and their colleagues.
“There can be no place in policing for anyone behaving this way.
“In addition to the criminal convictions today, we found PC Lewis and former officer Deniz Jaffer had a case to answer for gross misconduct. A separate investigation concluded three police constables have a case to answer for misconduct as they were either aware of, received or viewed the inappropriate photographs and failed to challenge or report them.
“These officers have further undermined public confidence and damaged trust in the Metropolitan Police Service at a time when policing standards have never been under such close scrutiny.
“The IOPC’s role is to provide independent oversight of the police on behalf of the public, by holding officers accountable for their actions and identifying where policing can be improved.
“Sadly, as today’s events highlight, police officers falling below the standards of behaviour expected of them are not one-off events.
“A culture where some officers do not see anything wrong with sharing deeply offensive messages, and where others feel unable or unwilling to challenge this, has to change.
“And it has to change now.
“Last year we made two recommendations to the Met to tackle inappropriate behaviours and culture at the station where Lewis and Jaffer were based.
“We understand changes have now been implemented across the North East Command and the Met is seeking to implement our recommendations throughout the service.
“This is welcome and those changes cannot come quickly enough.
“It should be the norm for the policing community to call out bad behaviour when they see it – not the exception.
“Officers must feel protected and supported to do this in an environment where there is zero tolerance. And, as we also recommended, senior officers must take firm action to tackle these problems.
“It is crucial that the Met learns from this incident. One of the legacies of this shocking case must be that it acts as a catalyst for long-lasting changes in attitudes, culture and behaviour within the force.
“The restoration of public confidence is the least owed to the memory of Nicole and Bibaa.”
In total 13 officers were under investigation for potential breaches of standards of professional behaviour resulting from four separate investigations.
In addition to the criminal convictions, the IOPC found PC Lewis and former officer Jaffer had a case to answer for gross misconduct.
Its separate investigation into the conduct of a further six officers who allegedly were either aware of, received or viewed the inappropriate photographs and failed to challenge or report them concluded three officers, all PCs, had a case to answer for misconduct.
Other investigations which stemmed from, but were not connected to, the original investigation have concluded – and found evidence that officers may have shared or used answers prior to a police driving exam.
It also found evidence one officer may have taken and shared a photograph at the scene of a sudden death, and that two other officers were either aware of, received or viewed that photograph.
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you might want to amend this copy, he didn’t live in Eltham, he lived in Blackheath, sorry.