Police officers sacked over 'sexualised comments' video of woman with learning difficulties in bed

A second officer, who featured in the video, has also been dismissed.

Police Ombudsman Jacqui Durkin has described the behaviour of the two former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers towards vulnerable people they had been tasked to assist as “utterly despicable”.

The ombudsman said the woman responded by holding up her electronic tablet and advising that she was recording the officers.

Officer A stated that they were having “craic” and told the woman to “lighten up”.

When shown the video by Police Ombudsman investigators, the woman said she had been unaware that she was being filmed and felt “disgusted”.

Ms Durkin said: “Such behaviour from police officers tasked to assist a vulnerable woman at a time of distress is reprehensible.

“Recording a video while making sexualised comments to a vulnerable woman who was in bed in her nightwear was hugely inappropriate, a gross intrusion of her privacy and an affront to her dignity.

“They demeaned her for their own amusement.

“It would be hard to imagine behaviour further removed from the care and compassion required by police officers in such a situation.”

The ombudsman said the same two officers had also been involved in an exchange of photos and messages on WhatsApp in November 2020.

Officer B was in the home of one of two women who had reported an assault and theft.

While speaking to the women, who were known to have vulnerabilities, he took photos of them and sent them to Officer A.

The ombudsmen said the pictures were accompanied with messages, some of which were of a sexual nature and contained derogatory terms about both women.

When interviewed, Officer B stated that he was a junior officer and pointed out that Police Officer A was his Probationary Support Officer.

He said he was “trying to fit in” and would not have acted as he had if he had not met Officer A.

Photos, videos and messages relating to another 15 members of the public Officer A had encountered during his duties were found on his current personal mobile phone and a previous device.

Five of the people were photographed or recorded while in hospital.

They included a woman the officer had encountered numerous times in relation to incidents of self-harm and concerns that she might take her own life.

The ombudsman said in June 2019, while he had been detailed to escort the woman to hospital, he sent a picture of her to a member of the public along with details of her medical condition.

The officer recorded two videos of another woman he had been tasked to locate after she had left hospital while being treated following an overdose.

The ombudsman said she was at the time attached to a drip, and the videos were recorded without her knowledge.

After learning about the videos, the woman told ombudsman investigators she had been at the lowest point of her life and was angry.

Another woman, who has not been identified, was photographed in a hospital bed with a police officer sitting in a chair beside her, and a man was pictured talking to a police officer in a hospital waiting area in 2018.

In another photograph, a man considered to be at risk of self-harm was pictured lying across chairs in a hospital waiting area.

The ombudsman said other material included a video of a woman, recorded at a time when she was abusing alcohol and drugs.

The report said a further five videos found on Officer A’s phone featured an elderly and apparently vulnerable man, filmed in his home and in a street from a police car.

They show the state of the man’s living conditions and included the officer making comments about his sex life.

Two separate videos were recorded of women who had been involved in a neighbour dispute, one of whom was intoxicated. Both were unaware that they had been recorded.

Photographs of a further two men were sent in messages, one with a mocking commentary about a man who appeared to be sleeping in the rear of a police car, and another in which a derogatory term was used to refer to a man photographed lying across chairs.

The ombudsman said the officers’ behaviour emerged during an investigation into an allegation in 2021 that Officer A had abused his position for a sexual purpose by establishing a relationship with a woman he had met on duty.

The officer was arrested by Police Ombudsman investigators and his home and workplace were searched and electronic devices were seized.

While the initial investigation into the alleged inappropriate relationship led to no action being taken against him, the discovery of material on his personal phones prompted a number of investigations.

These included a Police Ombudsman investigation which established that 74 police officers, including Officer A, had accessed police body-worn video footage without any legitimate reason for doing so. The PSNI took management action against all 74 officers.

After an internal PSNI Professional Standards investigation into evidence of racial, sexist and misogynistic memes having been shared between police officers, Officer A was sacked in 2025.

Officer B was dismissed for gross misconduct in July 2026, and another officer, Police Officer C, was given a final written warning.

Officer C had received a video of a vulnerable member of the public from Officer A and later sent it back to him. The officer accepted that the video was inappropriate and should have been reported.

Ms Durkin said: “Almost all of the people affected by these actions were vulnerable, some extremely so.

“They should have been treated with compassion and empathy.

“Instead, they were treated with nothing short of contempt.”

Mr Singleton said: “The behaviour described by the ombudsman falls far below the standards the public is entitled to expect from police officers. It represented a serious breach of trust, particularly affecting people who were entitled to care and compassion.”