Edinburgh armed police withdrawal after Tallia Storm photo sparked 'shockwaves'

Edinburgh Live

a day ago

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A Police Scotland inspector said the permanent withdrawal of two firearms officers following a controversial incident sent "shockwaves" through the force.
Inspector Andrew Miller gave evidence at the Edinburgh Employment Tribunal on Friday, June 13, claiming the officers' treatment was "disproportionate" to their actions.
His evidence comes on the fifth day of a sexual discrimination case lodged by Steven Jones and Greg Tunnock who were withdrawn from the firearms unit after they were filmed taking photographs with Scottish singer Tallia Storm on the job. They argued the incident was branded "misogynistic" by bosses, claiming the "knee-jerk" withdrawal decision was made to mitigate bad publicity.
Speaking to the tribunal on Friday, Insp Miller admitted he believed the officers' treatment "may not be proportionate to the circumstances".
Mr Miller said: "I didn't believe their actions were misogynistic. I was aware it could be interpreted as misogynistic [by the public]. I didn't believe that was the case, but it could be interpreted that way by others."
He later stated: "We had to be aware how the public would view this."
Under cross-examination, Mr Miller claimed he had "never seen" a "critical decision taken like this" so quickly in his 27 years of police service.
The inspector said the decision to permanently withdraw Mr Jones and Mr Tunnock sent "shockwaves" through the force and that "officers were enraged at the action" taken against their colleagues.
Mr Miller added: "If we take a step back, it was ultimately a photograph" and he "had concerns the punishment may not be proportionate to the circumstances".
Reference was made to Rhona Malone, a firearms officer who in 2019 was paid nearly £1m after an employment tribunal found she had been victimised on the basis of sex by Police Scotland. Mr Miller claimed the force had done a lot of combat misogyny since 2019 but he was aware senior management "still talk" about the case.
The inspector added: "I felt the outcome from the ACC was made too quick and should have followed, in my experience, normal process", such as the conclusion of an investigation by the Professional Standards Department (PSD).
Mr Tunnock previously told the court that Insp Miller told him "the last thing the firearms unit needs is another misogyny case". Mr Miller claimed on Friday "that is how it would be viewed" by management.
However, under re-examination from Mr Gibson, representing Police Scotland, Mr Miller agreed with assistant chief constable Ritchie's assertion on June 12 that Ms Storm's gender was irrelevant to the withdrawal decision. He also said his concerns about management's perception of misogyny were "unfounded" given that the officers were struck off for "poor judgement, decision-making, and situational awareness".
Mr Miller also criticised the officers for their decision-making, saying: "There was acknowledgement [from the officers] that this wasn't the best thing they'd ever done. They need to have a degree of professional awareness that they were being filmed. It just doesn't look good."
The proceedings are presided over by Employment Judge Amanda Jones. The five-day hearing began on Monday, June 9 and was scheduled to conclude on Friday, June 13.
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