By Jay Tavares-
The police officers barred for their conduct during the murder investigation of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman are to be sentenced by the Old Bailey on December 6 –
Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, were found stabbed to death in Fryent Country Park on June 7 last year.
While the family of the dead still grieving their brutal murder, PC Deniz Jaffer and PC Jamie Lewis risked contamination of the Kingsbury crime scene, breaching the cordon to take six “inappropriate” and “unauthorised” photographs of the bodies which they then shared with friends and colleagues.
Danyal Hussein was given a life sentence – with a minimum 35-year jail term – after being found guilty of two counts of murder and possession of a knife.
During the early hours of June 8, then officers PC Jamie Lewis(pictured left) and PC Deniz Jaffer(pictured right) , were assigned to protect the murder scene.
An investigation found that they left their posts to take pictures on their mobile phones of the victims and the crime scene.
They shared the images with other officers and, in PC Jaffer’s case, with members of the public via WhatsApp.
The pair, who were attached to the Met’s North East command unit serving Newham and Waltham, were both suspended from duty following their arrests on June 22.
They were each charged with misconduct in public office, and both pleaded guilty to the offence at the Old Bailey on November 2.
During that hearing they admitting to sharing the photos on WhatsApp and to superimposing Lewis’s face on one of the pictures shared.
In adjourning sentencing for the preparation of reports, judge Mark Lucraft QC granted Lewis and Jaffer conditional bail.
It has since been confirmed that both defendants will be sentenced at the same court on December 6.
At an accelerated misconduct hearing held last Wednesday – November 24 – it was determined that the officers’ actions had breached the standards of professional behaviour.
PC Lewis was dismissed without notice, while former PC Jaffer would have faced the same fate had he not already resigned.
The officers’ behaviour came to light after an anonymous report was made to the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards.
Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said: “The behaviour of PCs Lewis and Jaffer that day was shameful and fell very far below the standards we expect of all our officers.
“We do not want officers who act in such an unprofessional and disrespectful manner to be part of the Metropolitan Police Service.”