TWO police officers have been charged over allegedly taking selfies with the bodies of murdered sisters in a park.
Pc Deniz Jaffer and Pc Jamie Lewis have been charged with misconduct in public office over photos taken at the murder scene of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in Wembley, north London last June.
Police said it had been informed of allegations of "non-official and inappropriate photographs" shared from the murder scene just weeks after the killings.
The photos were allegedly shared on WhatsApp.
Both officers, who are based on the North East Command, have been suspended from duty.
Jaffer, 47, and Lewis, 32, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 27 for their first hearing.
Ms Smallman, 27, and Ms Henry, 46, were found dead at Fryent Country Park in Wembley on June 6.
'DEEPLY CONCERNED'
Sal Naseem, IOPC Director for London, said he was "deeply concerned" by the details emerging from the investigation into the photos being shared.
“The public have a right to expect high standards of professional behaviour from police," he said.
"These allegations, if true, breach that trust and may point to more serious issues around the organisational culture, which we will also be looking at.”
He said the case is a “salient reminder to all police officers to take responsibility for addressing wrongdoing and upholding professional standards in their own ranks.”
Officers have an “obligation to speak out if they see unacceptable behaviour”, he added.
Last month Bibaa and Nicole's mother, Mina Smallman, said of the allegations: "This has taken our grief to another place.
"If ever we needed an example of how toxic it has become, those police officers felt so safe, so untouchable, that they felt they could take photographs of dead black girls and send them on.
"It speaks volumes of the ethos that runs through the Metropolitan Police."
She claimed the police were "making assumptions" when they didn't immediately respond when the sisters were first reported missing.
Danyal Hussein, 18, from Blackheath, has been charged with two counts of murder and possession of an offensive weapon, and faces trial later this year.
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