Jailed Colchester PC's actions a 'betrayal of catastrophic proportions'
Pc Jamie Lewis has been jailed for two years and nine months after he took photos of two dead women while guarding a cordon in London - Credit: PA
A former Met Police officer from Colchester who took and shared photos of the bodies of two murdered sisters has been jailed for two years and nine months.
Mina Smallman, the mother of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, said in a statement at the sentencing of Jamie Lewis, of Colchester at the Old Bailey today that the officer's actions were a "betrayal of catastrophic proportions".
Mrs Smallman said: "Those police officers felt so safe, so untouchable, they felt they would take photos of our murdered daughters.
"Those officers dehumanised our children.
Mina Smallman, the mother of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, arriving at the Old Bailey, London ahead of the sentencing of Pc Deniz Jaffer and Pc Jamie Lewis. - Credit: PA
“If it had not been for an anonymous tip-off to the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) we would never have known.”
Pc Jamie Lewis and his former colleague Pc Deniz Jaffer of Hornchurch, east London were assigned to guard the scene overnight on June 8 after Ms Henry, 46, and Ms Smallman, 27, were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park, Wembley, north-west London.
The two officers left their post at the cordon to take photographs of the bodies, which were later shared with members of the public and colleagues on WhatsApp - one was a “selfie-style” image which included Lewis’ face superimposed on it.
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Shortly after arriving on the scene, Lewis posted to the A Team group an article about the discovery of the bodies, saying he and his colleagues were “living the Wembley dream”.
Lewis wrote: “Unfortunately I’m sat next to two dead birds full of stab wounds.”
Sisters Bibaa Henry (left) and Nicole Smallman were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park as pictured by a family handout from the Metropolitan Police - Credit: PA
An examination of the officers’ phones revealed that the inappropriate images had been shared on WhatsApp.
The defendants were both members of a group called A Team, comprised of 41 Metropolitan Police officers.
Analysis of Lewis’s phone showed that he had sent messages to a third WhatsApp group containing seven non-police members.
The officers both pleaded guilty to sharing the photos at a hearing at the Old Bailey earlier this month.
Lewis was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police immediately and Jaffer would have been sacked too, had he not already quit the force.
The pair were sentenced to two years and nine months by Judge Mark Lucraft QC at the Old Bailey today.
In October, Danyal Hussein, 19, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years for the murders.
