UK: Police Officers Caught Mocking Semi-Naked Woman Having Seizures

Three police constables from Berkshire, United Kingdom, were caught making derogatory remarks while watching the body-worn camera footage of a woman in a vulnerable state. The 22-year-old woman was reportedly having a seizure and losing consciousness when her groin and breasts were exposed and caught on tape. The constables reportedly had no reason to rewatch the video, according to the police force. Two of the officers were sanctioned while the third, a student officer who brought this incident to light, was dismissed. 

Several cases of police officers misusing body-worn cameras have been coming to light recently. These include officers sharing the videos for their personal use, deleting footage, or turning off the camera. In the recent gruesome case, the woman's video was rewatched without reason and the constables made comments on her genitalia.

Police Mock Woman In Vulnerable State

Constables from the Thames Valley Police Department were in the middle of apprehending a 22-year-old woman for an alleged assault when she suffered a seizure and began vomiting. As she lost consciousness, her groin and chest area were exposed, which was caught on a female police officer's body-worn camera. 

The woman was taken to a hospital where the officers gave her bail so she could be treated. Later investigations revealed that the woman was being wrongly accused and she was, in fact, the survivor and not the perpetrator of the assault. Thus her arrest was cancelled.

 Later that shift, the female officer began viewing the body-worn camera footage and the male constables gathered around and began passing derogatory comments. The officers commented on the woman's genitalia and breasts and also began discussing how much they would pay to have sex with her.

The student officer who was present during this incident then came clean to the senior officers, exposing the comments made by the officers. The female officer refused to partake in this conversation and replay the video, but the other officers did not stop, according to the whistleblower's statement.

"I just thought: 'This is a victim of crime, a person who we know to be vulnerable.' How can you talk about someone like that?" the student officer said in his statement. When the woman found out about the incident, she said, "It makes me feel betrayed. The police are supposed to be the people you go to when you need help," speaking to BBC.