The disciplinary hearing at Central East Command Unit determined that three Metropolitan Police officers acted improperly during the strip-search of Child Q, a 15-year-old girl wrongly accused of carrying cannabis. The search, conducted without an appropriate adult present and while the girl was menstruating, was found unnecessary and disproportionate. Officer Kristina Linge and PC Rafal Szmydynski were deemed guilty of gross misconduct, while officer Victoria Wray was guilty of misconduct. The Metropolitan Police acknowledged their organizational failings in training and oversight regarding strip-search protocols, expressing deep regret for the incident and the damage it caused within Black communities.
The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable. We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened.
The hearing concluded that the search of Child Q was unnecessary, inappropriate and disproportionate, leading to findings of gross misconduct against two officers.
Collection
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