Police officer lay down in sun and took selfies while on duty guarding murder investigation scene after teenage boy stabbed to death, jury hears

A serving police officer took a selfie while standing guard at the scene of a murder investigation following the fatal stabbing of a teenage boy, a court heard today.

The jury was told PC Ryan Connolly, 41, took photos of himself as he waited at the cordon, including one of him lying in the summer sun.

The Merseyside Police officer was tasked with securing the scene following the murder of 16-year-old Daniel Gee-Jamieson in Liverpool on July 3, 2018.

Daniel died in hospital after being stabbed during a fight watched by about 30 young people.

Prosecutor Peter Wilson told the jury at Manchester Crown Court there were ‘selfies of him standing there and lying down’.

“If you’re guarding a murder scene, you might think you’re not going to send a selfie while on duty, and you might consider that as important work and something that deserves respect, rather than reaching over and taking a selfie,” he told them.

police officers’The prosecutor added that these individuals are mandated not only to uphold the rule of law, but also to protect and protect society, and therefore “they cannot abuse their position of power and trust.”

Connolly was accused of illegally taking six crime scene photographs and also He uses his mobile phone to take photos of police documents and people police officers deal with.

Connolly allegedly took photographs of 24 people arrested at police stations and hospitals and shared them on WhatsApp.

He allegedly took photos of 24 people arrested at police stations and hospitals and shared them on WhatsApp.

The jury of seven women and five men was told that some of those photographed were victims of domestic violence or ‘vulnerable’ people with mental health problems.

Connolly, from Liverpool, denies four counts of misconduct in a public office.

The court heard the ‘inappropriate’ photographs were taken while he was on duty between February 2014 and February 2020.

Connolly allegedly took a selfie at the scene where 16-year-old Daniel Gee-Jamieson (above) was fatally stabbed

He was arrested on 4 February 2020 and his mobile phone was seized during Merseyside Police’s anti-corruption investigation.

Mr Wilson said: ‘In his response to the allegations of misconduct, the defendant states that the images taken from his mobile phone were taken for business purposes.

‘He also says he shot the images using his personal mobile phone for convenience and quickness.

‘His position is that none of the photographs are made public and are only shared with the police officer he wishes to be shared with and under no circumstances are they shared within a group chat.

‘The prosecution alleges that the fact that he took the photographs on his personal mobile phone and stored them on WhatsApp rather than in any police system amounted to criminal misconduct.’

The court heard the photos taken by Connolly showed him posing near the cordon and did not include any images of Daniel.

One of them showed him in a park surrounding the crime scene in the Gateacre area, and they were all taken before 9am.

Giving evidence, Detective Constable Kayleigh Greaves, who examined the photographs, said: ‘The cordon covered a large area.

‘A large number of police officers were required to secure the scene.’

He added: ‘There was nothing sensitive about the footage.’

Mr Wilson DC asked Greaves: ‘If you are on guard duty at the scene of a murder, is there any reason to take a selfie?’

The officer replied: ‘No.’

Owen Cousins ​​was later cleared of murdering Daniel but was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The trial continues.