A Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested after they allegedly shared footage of an alleged rape of a woman who later died.
The Met said the constable, who was attached to the West Area Basic Command Unit, was arrested by “professional standards officers” on September 12 2022 on suspicion of “misconduct in public office”.
They added that the ongoing criminal investigation was examining “whether images of deceased people, found on the officer’s digital devices, were taken and used for a legitimate policing purpose”.
They said that a referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct who determined that the matters should be investigated by the Metropolitan Police.
The Guardian reported that the case relates to Natalie Shotter, 37, who died after a night out with friends on July 17 2021.
In a statement, The Met Police said: “The evening before Natalie was found dead, two officers on duty in the local area were approached and spoken to by a friend of hers who had been with her in the park and was concerned she seemed unwell.
“The officers, who were dealing with another incident at the time, did not enter the park or take any further actions following the conversation.”
Theyt added: “That interaction was referred to the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) to determine whether the officers acted appropriately based on the information they were given at the time.
“A referral was made to the IOPC and they made the decision that the DPS should investigate.”
They said: “An investigation by the DPS found that they should be referred to the Unsatisfactory Performance Procedure but that their actions did not amount to misconduct.
“On 7 October 2022, we received a letter from Natalie’s mother about this decision. As a result, the original DPS investigation was reviewed. This arrived at the same outcome.”
Ms Shotter, who worked for the NHS, reportedly became unwell while in the park and lay on a bench.
Shortly after she did this, a friend allegedly went to find help. When the man found two police officers, they allegedly could not help because of another incident and advised the man to call 101.
Ms Shotter was then reportedly approached by a man who allegedly raped her and she was later found dead.
It was reported that an initial postmortem said her cause of death was inconclusive.
