Two Metropolitan Police officers committed gross misconduct during the 鈥渄isproportionate鈥 and 鈥渉umiliating鈥 strip search of a 15 year-old black girl at school, who was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis, a disciplinary hearing has found.
The girl, known as Child Q, was strip searched while she was on her period, by officers in Hackney, east London, on December 3 2020, after her school wrongly suspected her of carrying cannabis.
The 鈥渢raumatic鈥 police search involved the removal of Child Q鈥檚 clothing, including her underwear, her bending over and having to expose intimate parts of her body while she was menstruating.
An appropriate adult was not present, a key safeguard of a child鈥檚 rights, and the child鈥檚 mother was not told of the situation.
The actions of Pc Kristina Linge and Pc Rafal Szmydynski amounted to gross misconduct, while the behaviour of Pc Victoria Wray amounted to misconduct, the police disciplinary hearing, sitting in south-east London, ruled on Thursday.
On Thursday Commander Jason Prins, chairman of the misconduct panel, said race was not a factor in the way Child Q was treated, but the search was 鈥渄isproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary鈥 and it was 鈥渉umiliating鈥 for the child and made her feel 鈥渄egraded鈥.
The officers are now waiting to hear if they will be sacked, or what other penalty they may face, in light of the findings.
Child Q felt 鈥渄emeaned鈥 and 鈥減hysically violated鈥 and did not give evidence at the four-week hearing 鈥渂ecause of the psychological effects that this strip search has had on her鈥, the panel heard.