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Ex-police officer accused of ‘lying down and taking selfie at murder scene’

2026-03-03 17:29
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Ex-police officer accused of ‘lying down and taking selfie at murder scene’

The jury was shown the pictures, found on Connolly's phone, which included one selfie showing the officer standing up and another of him lying on the grass.

Ex-police officer accused of ‘lying down and taking selfie at murder scene’ Sarah Hooper Sarah Hooper Published March 3, 2026 5:29pm Updated March 3, 2026 8:35pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook 16-year-old Daniel Gee-Jamieson was killed in Belle Vale, Liverpool, in 2018 (Picture: Liverpool Echo)

A former police officer took selfies while on duty at the scene where a teenager had been killed, a court has heard.

Ryan Connolly, 41, then a serving officer with Merseyside Police, was on duty at the cordon of the scene where 16-year-old Daniel Gee-Jamieson was killed in Belle Vale, Liverpool, in 2018.

It was then that he took photos of himself in the area, Manchester Crown Court heard, ‘instead of guarding the scene’.

Prosecutor Peter Wilson showed the jury photos found on Connolly’s phone, which included one selfie showing the officer standing up in his police uniform and another of him lying on the grass.

The court heard nothing sensitive could be seen in the images, which also included pictures of police tape at the scene.

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The former constable of Huyton, Merseyside, denies four charges of misconduct in a public office.

Undated handout photo issued by the Crown Prosecution Service of Ryan Connolly, who was on duty as a Merseyside Police officer when he took the selfies at a scene where a teenager had been killed in Belle Vale, Liverpool. He denies four counts of misconduct in a public office and is currently on trial at Manchester Crown Court. Issue date: Tuesday March 03, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Crown Prosecution Service/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Connolly took multiple selfies while at work (Picture: PA) A police officer took photographs of himself 'lying down' at a crime scene after a 16-year-old boy had been stabbed to death. Ryan Connolly has been sacked from Merseyside Police for a number of disciplinary offences while serving with the force. It has now emerged that Connolly had taken selfie photographs at the scene where Daniel Gee-Jamieson was fatally stabbed. Daniel died in hospital after he was stabbed during a fight on July 3 2018. The officer allegedly took photos at the murder scene of Daniel Gee-Jamieson (Picture: Liverpool Echo)

Wilson said Connolly was arrested in February 2020, and when his mobile phones were seized, a number of photographs were recovered from the sent folder of the messaging app WhatsApp.

He said: ‘The images are 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 guarding a murder scene.’

Twenty-four photos found on devices showed people who were detained at police stations, hospitals or mental health premises.

The jury heard some photos showed members of the public as they lay on hospital beds, were receiving treatment or were in handcuffs.

One image showed a missing child after he was found and taken to a police station, and another showed two people who appeared to be asleep in bed, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, one woman, shown hiding in a cupboard in a photo, said she found it ‘degrading and upsetting’.

Connolly is also accused of taking pictures containing details of force systems, suspect images and police incident logs.

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Wilson said: ‘The prosecution says he has wilfully misconducted himself by taking inappropriate photographs where, we say, there is no professional need to do so. He’s then retained them and sent them on.’

He said Connolly’s actions had crossed the threshold and amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust in the police.

Mr Wilson said the defendant claimed the images, on his personal mobile phone, were taken for work purposes, but the court heard they had not been uploaded to police systems.

The trial is expected to last four to five days.

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