Latest news with #policem misconduct
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Child Q: Officer admits failings during strip-search of Black schoolgirl
An officer who strip-searched a 15-year-old Black schoolgirl has admitted a series of failings in her handling of the incident, but denied her actions were discriminatory, a misconduct panel has heard. The girl, known as Child Q, was strip-searched by officers in Hackney, east London, on December 3 2020, after her school wrongly suspected her of carrying cannabis. The police search involved the removal of Child Q's clothing, including her underwear, and her bending over while she was menstruating, a previous hearing heard. Trainee detective constable (TDC) Kristina Linge, Pc Victoria Wray and Pc Rafal Szmydynski, who were all Pcs at the time, all deny gross misconduct over their treatment of the girl. On Wednesday, TDC Linge, who conducted the strip search alongside Pc Wray, gave evidence to a Metropolitan police misconduct panel in London, where she admitted a series of failings regarding the incident. The 46-year-old agreed when questioned by her barrister, Luke Ponte, that there was no appropriate adult present during the strip search and that she had not conducted a less intrusive type of search prior to the strip search. Mr Ponte asked the officer: 'You failed to make a record of the search?' 'That is correct,' TDC Linge replied. He said: 'You accept that in all the circumstances you did not properly step back and consider the proportionality of the situation?' 'That's correct,' she said. Mr Ponte asked: 'You accept the search should not have happened?' 'Yes,' she replied. 'You accept that it happening caused Q harm and distress?' he said. 'I believe so,' she responded. Mr Ponte then asked TDC Linge whether she would have done anything differently had the circumstances been 'exactly the same' but Child Q had been white, to which she replied: 'No.' The panel heard that TDC Linge did not accept accusations of breaches of respect for authority and respecting courtesy. The officer said that upon her arrival at the school, the deputy safeguarding staff member was 'adamant' that the girl had drugs on her and that the headteacher said she wanted to 'make sure' the girl was not 'carrying drugs for herself or others'. When asked about the likelihood of finding drugs concealed in the 'groin area' or bra using a JOG search (meaning removal of jacket, outer coat and gloves), the officer replied, saying she thought this would be 'impossible'. TDC Linge told the panel that prior to the incident, she had not attended a school before for policing purposes. Before the strip search of Child Q, the officer said she had only taken part in stop-and-search JOG searches that had been conducted on the street. The panel heard that these factors had contributed to why TDC Linge felt she had 'got things wrong' on this occasion. TDC Linge also said she had never observed an MTIP (More Thorough Intimate Parts) search, commonly known as strip searches, before searching Child Q. A previous hearing heard that Child Q informed the two officers who searched her that she was menstruating, but the search continued during which her sanitary pad was exposed. When no drugs were found after the strip search, Child Q's hair was also scoured. According to the allegations, Pcs Linge and Szmydynski performed a search that exposed the girl's intimate parts when this was 'disproportionate in all the circumstances'. Pcs Linge and Wray are also accused of performing or allowing the search in a manner which was 'unjustified, inappropriate, disproportionate, humiliating and degrading'. All of this happened without authorisation, in the absence of an appropriate adult, and with no adequate concern being given to Child Q's age, sex, or the need to treat her as a child, and that the child's race was an effective cause of this, it is also alleged. Pcs Szmydynski and Linge are further accused of giving a 'misleading record' of the search afterwards. The girl will not be giving evidence at the tribunal, 'because of the psychological effects that this strip search has had on her', the panel previously heard. Outrage over Child Q's treatment led to protests outside Stoke Newington Police Station. Scotland Yard has previously apologised over the incident. The hearing continues.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Nashville Police whistleblower indicted in Covenant School shooting document leak
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has indicted former Metro Nashville Police lieutenant and police misconduct whistleblower Garet Davidson on one count of theft, two counts of burglary and more than 30 counts of official misconduct. The charges come after Davidson allegedly gained access to restricted files, including those tied to the Covenant School investigation. TBI investigated at the request of Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk. Davidson's attorney Alex Little did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. Two indictments were handed down in the case. In the first, Davidson is charged with six counts of official misconduct related to leaking Covenant School shooting materials. In the six count indictment, obtained by The Tennessean, Davidson is alleged to have intentionally or knowingly harmed victims of the March 27, 2023 Covenant School shooting by leaking documents related to the case on or around Nov. 20, 2023. Count six alleges Davidson benefitted or received benefits from releasing documents related to the Covenant School shooting. In the other indictment, Davidson is charged with one count theft of property, two counts of burglary and 29 counts of official misconduct. He is accused in the indictment of obtaining non-public internal investigative files from the department's Office of Professional Accountability, MNPD's internal investigative review branch. "During the course of the investigation, agents discovered that Davidson, while employed as a lieutenant of the Office of Professional Accountability at the Metro Nashville Police Department, used his position to gain access to restricted areas that he was not authorized to access within MNPD. He then took multiple criminal case files, internal investigation case files, original case files, and other documents he was not authorized to retain," TBI said in a statement via email. Davidson, 38, was arrested May 6 in Portland. He was taken to the Davidson County Jail and being held on a $150,000 bond. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former Nashville lieutenant, whistleblower charged in Covenant leak
