TikTok vigilante mum posed as cop and advised stranger ‘we’re taking your youngsters’
Daisy Armstrong, 23, of Strood, Kent sent her victim a text pretending she was a police officer after seeing a TikTok video in which an influencer accused him of stealing a car
Daisy Armstrong(Image: Cover Images)
A mum-of-two sent a menacing message to a stranger pretending to be a police officer after seeing a TikTok video about him.
Daisy Armstrong, 23, harassed the man, who she had never met, by sending him a text pretending she was a PC. She said she was coming to his home over fraud and theft allegations and suggested his children would be taken by social services.
Armstrong sent the text on September 20 after an influencer on the app accused him of stealing a car. She was charged with sending a false communication with the intent to cause harm and making a statement suggesting she was a police constable.
Armstrong, of Strood, Kent, appeared before magistrates in Maidstone earlier this month. David Holman, prosecuting, said: “She’s pleaded guilty to two matters.
“Richard Stannard was sent a text message saying a police report was made in September for harassment in relation to a matter. This raised suspicion as the messages said officers were on their way to his home, as his three children were in danger.”
The text said: “Hello Richie Stannard this is the police can you please give a call back regarding a report made against you in September please. Officers are their (sic) on their way to your home along with social services we fear them three kids are in serious danger with you and your partner Lauren Deacon my badge number is PC15290 and the report is regarding theft and fraud.
“You just said you would contact the station so I gave you my badge number for you to confirm we are already on route please get the kids stuff ready we can’t leave them in yours or Lauren’s care as your both under investigation for serious issues reported.
“If you did want to call my station im at Barry police station and again my badge/force number is PC15290 again, Mr Stannard, I’ll see you soon.”
The prosecutor added: “This caused alarm and distress as he believed another person was behind the messages.” The police badge number mentioned in the messages did belong to a Kent officer, PC Davis.
Magistrates were told the officer confirmed she operated under that warrant number and that she had had dealings with Armstrong previously when she was the victim of a crime. Mr Holman added: “In interview, Armstrong said it was her (phone) number but denied it and said she didn’t know Mr Stannard. She said she wouldn’t have messaged him pretending to be a police officer.
“She said the phone was hers, but she was out of possession of it for some time, but she pleads guilty. It caused some distress.”
The prosecutor said he was asking for a restraining order preventing Armstrong from contacting the man or his partner again. Armstrong had some complex needs, had ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder and had previously been in an abusive relationship, the hearing was told.
Aneeka Dhaliwal, defending, said: “She’s a single mum to two young girls, and she accepts this matter was a stupid mistake she’s made and she has genuine remorse. She was in an abusive relationship for three years with the father of her eldest daughter and now has a non-molestation order against him.
“It was spur of the moment, a one-off. It was a TikTok influencer who posted that the victim (Mr Stannard) had stolen their car, and she followed the detail and made contact. It was a silly mistake to have done it, she sent the text.”
The court heard Armstrong was on Universal Credit and PIP and got about £1,700 a month. Magistrates told her they would give her credit for her early guilty pleas and gave her on a 12-month conditional discharge.
She was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £26 as well as £85 court costs. The bench did not issue a restraining order after concluding it was not appropriate.
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