Police officer sacked for unauthorized viewing of footage of Epsom College headmaster tragedy | My news from London

A former Surrey Police officer has been sacked for serious misconduct after viewing body-worn camera footage of a “locally and nationally significant” case without a valid reason. The footage in question is believed to have captured the moment the headmaster of Epsom College was found dead in February last year.

Although Surrey Police has not confirmed what specific footage was viewed, the date of the footage coincides with the date officers were called to Epsom College. Former Croydon High School headteacher Emma Pattison, 45, was found dead alongside her daughter Lettie, 7, in the school grounds in Surrey on February 5, 2023. Mrs Pattison’s husband, George Pattison, shot them at home before taking his own home. life.

Former Surrey Police officer Mr Baseer Ahmed has testified that he viewed the body-worn video (BWV) footage of the serious incident on February 5, but denies doing so for no police purpose. The police hearing panel, held on July 1, concluded that Mr Ahmed had breached professional standards as he unnecessarily watched footage of police who attended the scene where the victims were found.

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Professional standards dictate that there must be an explicit police purpose to access body-worn camera footage to ensure it is not viewed unnecessarily, Surrey Live reports. Mr. Ahmed viewed some, but not all, of the footage involved on February 7, days after a significant incident was reported and covered by the media. According to the misconduct report, he was not specifically instructed to inspect the footage or conduct related investigations.

Serving as a staff officer for Chief Inspector Budd from 2022, Mr Ahmeds job description included providing additional data to his Chief Superintendent. Stationed in West Surrey, it was not considered appropriate in this situation for Mr. Ahmed to collect details from other divisions.

The hearing company determined that Mr. Ahmed did not appear to be consuming the footage as an authorized work-related task. This was suggested, for example, by the fact that he did not make any notes, failed to inquire about the location of the event or notify senior colleagues about it.

While admitting he had watched a portion of the video, Mr Ahmed strongly rejected claims the footage was accessed without a valid police reason. He also disputed the breach of any professional standard and that his actions constituted gross misconduct.

However, the jury disagreed and found him guilty of breach of professionalism, confidentiality, orders and instructions. The report states: “It is important to remember the high standards that people rightly expect police officers to uphold, the extremely difficult circumstances faced by family members in this particular case and the likely effect that unnecessary viewing of the film will have on -would have. have upon them.” The group reached a consensus on this.

The panel concluded that the officer’s actions constituted serious misconduct, which could damage public perception of the police due to viewing footage of the major incident without good reason. This was exacerbated by Mr Ahmed’s disregard for national guidance and his insistence on having legitimate police reasons to access the footage.

Mr Ahmed resigned from Surrey Police on 15 December 2023, ten months after the incident, his departure taking effect on 15 January this year. The panel said that had he remained in service, his dismissal would have been necessary to preserve public confidence and uphold policing standards.

Although Mr Ahmed was present at two preliminary hearings, he did not attend the final misconduct hearing, citing “personal reasons”. Superintendent Andy Rundle, Head of Professional Standards, noted: “The public rightly expect police officers to behave with integrity and respect at all times.”

He added that former officer Ahmed breached that expectation by viewing body camera footage of a crime scene without a police purpose, prompting a comprehensive professional standards investigation. Inquests into the deaths of Emma and Lettie Pattison are scheduled for July 30, with George Pattison’s inquest set for the same date.

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