Two Pcs accused of gross incompetence over teenager’s domestic abuse claims
Two police officers have been accused of failing to act on claims of domestic violence made by a teenage girl who was killed in a heated confrontation with her ex-boyfriend.
Pcs Kerry Lynham and Sophie Dennis face a disciplinary hearing over claims of harassment made by Katrina Makunova in the weeks before her death.
The 17-year-old died in July 2018 when she fell on to a knife that she had concealed in her handbag ahead of a meeting with Oluwaseyi Dada, 23, in Camberwell, south-east London.
He was jailed for two years and three months for her manslaughter in what Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith described as an “extraordinary case”.
The two Metropolitan Police constables will face claims that their performance was grossly incompetent in a two-day hearing beginning on September 8.
It is claimed that, on June 23 2018, at an address in Forest Hill and at Lewisham police station, both in south-east London, they:
– Failed to acknowledge a member of the public was reporting criminal allegations of harassment and offences under the Public Order Act;
– Failed to take positive action as a result of that allegation;
– Failed to complete risk assessments relating to a vulnerable victim of domestic abuse;
– Failed to safeguard a child (Miss Makunova) in failing to complete a report for a database containing details of minors who have had contact with police.
Pc Dennis is also accused of providing false and misleading information on a crime report.
It is claimed the officer wrongly recorded that Miss Makunova did not want to make a statement when she had not been asked to do so; wrongly stated that a risk assessment form had been completed; and incorrectly said that she had refused to answer some questions.