PC took selfies at teen's murder scene, jury told

An ex-police officer used WhatsApp to send "inappropriate" selfies of himself at the scene of a teenager's murder, as well as photographs of people at police incidents who were vulnerable or drunk, a court has heard.

Former Merseyside officer Ryan Connolly, 41, denies four counts of misconduct in a judicial or public office.

Opening the prosecution case at Manchester Crown Court, Peter Wilson said the "sensitivity" of the images meant they amounted to "an abuse of the public's trust".

Members of the jury were told Connolly insisted all the pictures were taken for "legitimate policing purposes".

The prosecution said Connolly took three selfies while guarding the scene where 16-year-old Daniel Gee Jamieson was murdered in Liverpool in 2018.

"Instead of guarding the scene, he's laid down taking a selfie," Wilson told jurors. "What is the purpose of that?"

Referring to all of the photographs in the case, Wilson said: "The prosecution say they are not for policing and that they amount to criminal misconduct."

Connolly is also accused of taking and sending 24 photographs of people who were under arrest or detained at police stations, hospitals or mental health premises, as well as 23 images of information from force computer systems – including details of complaints about him.

He also allegedly took six photographs of police colleagues at work without a policing purpose.

Jurors were told the images were found in the "WhatsApp sent messages" folder on Connolly's phone, where they could only be saved if they had been sent via the messaging app.

The messages the images were sent with were no longer available and so investigating officers were unable to identify who they were sent to in all but one instance.

The court heard Connolly took two photographs of an inebriated homeless man he had taken to Royal Liverpool Hospital.

In a statement, that man said he "must have been drunk because I would not allow the officer to take this image".

The prosecution said Connolly sent a number of other photos of people being treated at the Royal Liverpool Hospital and in the Clock View mental health facility. Some were photographed while they were handcuffed, they said.

Connolly is also accused of sending a photo of a missing child who had been taken to a police station as a place of safety, and a photo of two people who were "in bed asleep".

Asked about a selection of the photos Connolly is accused of sending, investigating officer Detective Constable Kayleigh Greaves said there was no "policing" or "evidential" purpose to the pictures, and that they had not been entered on to the force's official computer systems.

Wilson said Connolly "maintains the data was stored on his personal device for legitimate policing purposes and that his personal device was utilised due to the limitations associated with the devices issued by Merseyside Police".

Connolly's case is that the photos were only shared with the officer he "intended them to be shared with" and were not "under any circumstances" shared within a group chat setting, Wilson said.

The trial is due to resume on Wednesday.

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