Ryan Connolly, 41, is accused of taking six photographs on his personal phone while on duty at the cordon where 16-year-old Daniel Gee-Jamieson was killed in Belle Vale in 2018
A police officer snapped a selfie whilst lying on the ground during his watch at the scene where a teenager was fatally attacked, a court has been told. Ryan Connolly, 41, stands accused of capturing six images on his personal mobile whilst on duty at the cordon where 16 year old Daniel Gee-Jamieson lost his life in Belle Vale.
Manchester Crown Court was told the Merseyside Police constable was stationed at the location in July 2018. However, Peter Wilson, prosecuting, informed the court on Tuesday: “Instead of guarding the scene, he has laid down, taken a selfie. You may think what is the purpose of that?”
Connolly, from Court Hey Road in Huyton, also faces allegations of capturing 24 photographs of individuals under arrest or detained at hospitals and mental health facilities, alongside images of internal police systems, displaying pictures of suspects and details of incident logs, plus photos of workmates.
Beginning the case on Tuesday, Peter Wilson addressed the jury of seven women and five men: “The prosecution says he has wilfully misconducted himself by taking inappropriate photographs which, the prosecution says, there is no professional need to do so.”
Connolly, who faces four counts of misconduct in a public office between December 2014 and February 2020, denies all the charges. The court was told the defendant became a member of Merseyside Police and served as an officer for several years, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Connolly was detained on February 4, 2020 and his mobile devices were confiscated and examined. The jury was informed that numerous photographs were retrieved from the WhatsApp sent folder.
Mr Wilson informed the jury: “Detective Constable Kayleigh Greaves reviewed the images located on the phone recovered and the images were mainly of members of the public who are clearly being dealt with by Merseyside Police. They also include pictures of other police officers on duty or even selfies of the defendant himself whilst he is on patrol at a murder scene.”
The jury was presented with images of Connolly which included a selfie in his police uniform and another of him lying down on the grass. The court was told that the images, which also included blue police tape, did not show any sensitive material such as the position of the body.
Mr Wilson questioned Det Con Greaves: “Should an officer be taking selfies when they are guarding a scene?”, to which the officer responded: “I would say no.”
Mr Wilson informed the jury: “The incidents and images have been reviewed by DC Greaves and checked Niche force systems, which is essentially where the police store their digital evidence. Not one of the images recovered on the defendant’s mobile phone have been uploaded onto the Niche system, been put onto the case file or are included in the incident report.
“The defendant states in his response to the misconduct allegations that the images recovered from his mobile phone had been taken for a work purpose. He also says that he took the images using his person mobile phone for ease and quickness.
“In the past the defendant has reported his body-worn camera as being faulty, however when he has brought the device in for repair he would have been given a replacement to use. Officers further conducted a review of the handsets that had been seized from the defendant on his arrest.
“Within the handset were a number of images were identified that were apparently of Merseyside force systems, specifically Storm. Storm is a system used for the creation and subsequent management of police incidents. The photographs taken appeared to have been taken of a force issue mobile device accessing Storm via the pronto mobile system.”
Mr Wilson stated it was the prosecution’s case that Connolly’s conduct in capturing the pictures on his private phone and storing them on WhatsApp rather than any police systems constituted criminal misconduct.
Mr Wilson informed the jury that Connolly, who is represented by Charlotte Rimmer, “maintains that the data stored on his personal device was for legitimate policing purposes and that his personal device was utilised due to the limitations associated with the devices by Merseyside”. The court was told that Connolly’s defence maintains “none of the photographs were made public and were only shared with the individual police officer he intended them to be shared with and not, under any circumstances, within a group chat”.
Mr Wilson addressed the jury: “I hazard a guess that I need not say it, but police officers, who are entrusted by the public not only to uphold the rule of law but to safeguard and protect the society cannot abuse their position of power and trust.
“The prosecution says by taking photos of those detained with mental health issues without evidential purpose is just one example of the criminal misconduct in this case.
“He denies it because, put simply, if he admitted it he would be guilty, in my submission. And so that is what you are here to decide. Did the defendant’s actions amount to misconduct that was unlawful? Or put into the context of the burden and standard of proof – have the prosecution made you sure?”.
The trial, before Judge Nicholas Dean KC, the honorary recorder of Manchester, continues.