Two PSNI officers sacked over ‘utterly despicable’ treatment of vulnerable people they had been tasked to assist
A police officer in Northern Ireland who recorded a video of a woman with learning difficulties in bed while making sexualised comments has been sacked.
A second officer, who featured in the video, has also been dismissed.
Police Ombudsman Jacqui Durkin has described the behaviour of the two former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers towards vulnerable people they had been tasked to assist as “utterly despicable”.
PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton has described the behaviour of the two officers as “horrifying”.
An ombudsman investigation found that Police Officer A recorded videos and took pictures of people who had requested police assistance, reported crimes, were intoxicated or considered at risk of self-harm.
The videos and images were captured in people’s homes, in hospitals and in police vehicles, Ms Durkin said.
Some were shared on WhatsApp, including with a member of the public – often accompanied with sexualised and derogatory commentary.
The ombudsman said 18 people were identified as having been referenced in messages, videos and photographs found on personal mobile phones belonging to Officer A between 2016 and 2021.
The second officer, Police Officer B, took photographs of two vulnerable women, which he then shared with Officer A along with messages which referred to the women in derogatory terms.
The ombudsman said in June 2021 the two officers had been tasked to the home of a woman with learning difficulties and mental health needs after a report of a concern for her safety.
A video made by Officer A showed the woman in bed in her nightwear with Officer B standing at the foot of the bed.
The report said Officer A asked a “highly inappropriate question” using a slang term apparently relating to the woman’s sex life.
After this Officer B shouted a comment and invited her to repeat it.
The ombudsman said the woman responded by holding up her electronic tablet and advising that she was recording the officers.
Officer A stated that they were having “craic” and told the woman to “lighten up”.
When shown the video by Police Ombudsman investigators, the woman said she had been unaware that she was being filmed and felt “disgusted”.
Ms Durkin said: “Such behaviour from police officers tasked to assist a vulnerable woman at a time of distress is reprehensible.
“Recording a video while making sexualised comments to a vulnerable woman who was in bed in her nightwear was hugely inappropriate, a gross intrusion of her privacy and an affront to her dignity.
“They demeaned her for their own amusement.
“It would be hard to imagine behaviour further removed from the care and compassion required by police officers in such a situation.”
The ombudsman said the same two officers had also been involved in an exchange of photos and messages on WhatsApp in November 2020.
Officer B was in the home of one of two women who had reported an assault and theft.
While speaking to the women, who were known to have vulnerabilities, he took photos of them and sent them to Officer A.
The ombudsmen said the pictures were accompanied with messages, some of which were of a sexual nature and contained derogatory terms about both women.
When interviewed, Officer B stated that he was a junior officer and pointed out that Police Officer A was his Probationary Support Officer.
He said he was “trying to fit in” and would not have acted as he had if he had not met Officer A.
Photos, videos and messages relating to another 15 members of the public Officer A had encountered during his duties were found on his current personal mobile phone and a previous device.
Five of the people were photographed or recorded while in hospital.
They included a woman the officer had encountered numerous times in relation to incidents of self-harm and concerns that she might take her own life.
The ombudsman said in June 2019, while he had been detailed to escort the woman to hospital, he sent a picture of her to a member of the public along with details of her medical condition.
The officer recorded two videos of another woman he had been tasked to locate after she had left hospital while being treated following an overdose.
The ombudsman said she was at the time attached to a drip, and the videos were recorded without her knowledge.
After learning about the videos, the woman told ombudsman investigators said she had been at the lowest point of her life and was angry.
Another woman, who has not been identified, was photographed in a hospital bed with a police officer sitting in a chair beside her, and a man was pictured talking to a police officer in a hospital waiting area in 2018.
In another photograph, a man considered to be at risk of self-harm was pictured lying across chairs in a hospital waiting area.
The ombudsman said other material included a video of a woman, recorded at a time when she was abusing alcohol and drugs.
The report said a further five videos found on Officer A’s phone featured an elderly and apparently vulnerable man, filmed in his home and in a street from a police car.
They show the state of the man’s living conditions and included the officer making comments about his sex life.
Two separate videos were recorded of women who had been involved in a neighbour dispute, one of whom was intoxicated. Both were unaware that they had been recorded.
Photographs of a further two men were sent in messages, one with a mocking commentary about a man who appeared to be sleeping in the rear of a police car, and another in which a derogatory term was used to refer to a man photographed lying across chairs.
The ombudsman said the officers’ behaviour emerged during an investigation into an allegation in 2021 that Officer A had abused his position for a sexual purpose by establishing a relationship with a woman he had met on duty.
The officer was arrested by Police Ombudsman investigators and his home and workplace were searched and electronic devices were seized.
While the initial investigation into the alleged inappropriate relationship led to no action being taken against him, the discovery of material on his personal phones prompted a number of investigations.
These included a Police Ombudsman investigation which established that 74 police officers, including Officer A, had accessed police body-worn video footage without any legitimate reason for doing so. The PSNI took management action against all 74 officers.
After an internal PSNI Professional Standards investigation into evidence of racial, sexist and misogynistic memes having been shared between police officers, Officer A was sacked in 2025.
Officer B was dismissed for gross misconduct in July 2026, and another officer, Police Officer C, was given a final written warning.
Officer C had received a video of a vulnerable member of the public from Officer A and later sent it back to him. The officer accepted that the video was inappropriate and should have been reported.
No further action was taken against the other officer, Police Officer D, who had been present when Officer A had recorded a video but stated that they had been unaware of the recording.
Ms Durkin said: “Almost all of the people affected by these actions were vulnerable, some extremely so.
“They should have been treated with compassion and empathy.
“Instead, they were treated with nothing short of contempt.
“These now former officers showed no respect for people’s privacy or dignity at their time of need and seriously undermined their trust and confidence in policing.
“One also shared a series of messages with a member of the public, showing scant regard for the confidentiality of police inquiries.
“They were unworthy of the role of police officer and it is only right that they have been dismissed from the PSNI.”
Mr Singleton said: “It will shock and appal our officers and staff that any member of the public, needing our help, was treated in this cruel and dismissive way.
“The behaviour described by the ombudsman falls far below the standards the public is entitled to expect from police officers. It represented a serious breach of trust, particularly affecting people who were entitled to care, compassion and professional support at times of acute vulnerability.
“We take any cases of misconduct of this nature extremely seriously.
“This is reflected in the dismissals of two officers. It is essential for public confidence in policing that complaints of this nature are fully investigated by the Police Ombudsman and we fully engage with these processes.”