Child who was strip searched at school worried she ‘will never feel normal'
A woman who was strip searched as a child at school has said she will 'never feel normal again' after two officers were sacked.
Child Q, who was 15 at the time, was strip-searched by female Met officers in 2020 after she was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis at her east London school.
Later it emerged that she was also on her period, with the girl, who is now an adult, saying she felt 'demeaned'.
A tribunal has since found the actions of two police officers involved amounted to gross misconduct, describing the incident as 'unjustified and humiliating'.
Trainee Det Con Kristina Linge and PC Rafal Szmydynski were sacked, while PC Victoria Wray was given a final warning.
In a statement through her lawyers, Child Q said: 'Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period.
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'I can't go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again.
'But I do know this can't happen to anyone, ever again.'
Child Q did not give evidence at the hearing due to the psychological damage of the strip search, but said she felt 'demeaned and physically violated'.
Child Q's mother said in a statement: 'Professionals wrongly treated my daughter as an adult and as a criminal and she is a changed person as a result. Was it because of her skin? Her hair? Why her?
'After waiting more than four years I have come every day to the gross misconduct hearing for answers and although I am relieved that two of the officers have been fired I believe that the Metropolitan Police still has a huge amount of work to do if they are to win back the confidence of Black Londoners.'
The officers involved had failed to acquire proper authorisation at sergeant level which went against the force's policy.
The panel has heard that black schoolchildren were more likely to be treated as adults rather than their white peers.
But neither age or race were found to be a factor in the way the search was conducted.
Cdr Kevin Southworth said in a statement: 'The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable.
'We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened.
'Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence black communities across London have in our officers.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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