Pc Jamie Lewis, 33, and former officer Deniz Jaffer, 47, used an offensive term when sharing messages on WhatsApp groups after straying from their cordons to take pictures of the two women
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Two police officers who took and shared “shameful” crime scene photos of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry have been sacked following a tribunal.
PC Jamie Lewis, 33, and former officer Deniz Jaffer, 47, described the siblings as “dead birds” when sharing messages on WhatsApp groups.
The pair strayed from their cordons to take pictures of the two women, who were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park, Wembley, north-west London.
They also used a racially derogatory term for Pakistanis in messages about other, unrelated police matters.
Sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman were murdered by Danyal Hussein.
Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, chairing an accelerated tribunal in west London on Wednesday, decided both men committed gross misconduct.
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She said: “This was hurtful, dishonest and unprofessional behaviour of the utmost seriousness.
“I am sorry that our officers behaved in such a hurtful, disrespectful and criminal way. Their actions are shameful.”
Lewis will be dismissed from the Metropolitan Police immediately, and Jaffer, who has already quit the force, would have been dismissed without notice if he was still a serving officer.
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The pair have already been warned they face “lengthy” jail terms when they are sentenced next month for misconduct in a public office.
Neither Lewis nor Jaffer attended the misconduct hearing, and neither disputed the evidence.
Deniz Jaffer had already resigned from the Metropolitan Police.
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The tribunal ruled that the two officers breached six established police standards, including confidentiality, and honesty and integrity, as well as authority, respect and courtesy.
PC Helen Tierney, outlining the case against the men, said the pair were placed at a cordon to protect the crime scene in the early hours of June 8 2020.
But both left their posts to take unauthorised pictures of the bodies on their phones, and shared them with colleagues, while Jaffer also sent them to members of the public.
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The murdered sisters’ mother Mina Smallman described the officers as “despicable”.
The Met previously announced it would apologise to the family after an Independent Office for Police Conduct report found the response on the weekend they went missing was below standard.
However, Ms Smallman said: “Sorry just won’t cut it. It’s too hollow.”
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The victims’ bodies were discovered by Nicole’s boyfriend Adam due to shocking after they were reported missing in June last year.
Ms Smallman believes the Met failed to take appropriate action after her girls’ disappearance – claiming the initial missing persons call was mishandled and her daughters may have been victims of “racial profiling, misogyny or classism”.
Satanist Danyal Hussein, 19, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years for murdering Ms Henry and Ms Smallman.
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