Policeman caught taking selfies while guarding murder scene, court told

Pictures found on Mr Connolly’s phone included a selfie of the officer lying on the grass.

He also stands accused of taking dozens of photographs of vulnerable or drunk members of the public while attending police incidents.

Peter Wilson, prosecuting, said Mr Connolly's actions amounted to an abuse of public trust.

He told the jury: "Instead of guarding the scene, he has laid down and taken a selfie. You may think: what is the purpose of that?"

Mr Connolly was arrested in February 2020.

After seizing his mobile phone, officers recovered a number of photographs from his WhatsApp account.

Jurors were told the images were found in the "WhatsApp sent messages" folder and could only have been saved if they had been sent through the messaging app.

However, the messages the images were sent with were no longer available and police were unable to identify who the pictures had been sent to.

Mr Wilson told the court the photos were mainly images of members of the public "who are clearly being dealt with by Merseyside Police".

Pictures of other officers on duty and selfies taken by Mr Connolly were also discovered on the phone, the prosecutor added.

Some 24 of the photographs showed people detained at police stations, hospitals or mental health premises.

The court heard examples of some of the images he allegedly took.

One photograph showed a missing child after they had been found and taken to a police station, jurors were told.

Another showed two people who appeared to be asleep in bed.

A woman who was photographed hiding in a cupboard said she found it "degrading and upsetting", in a statement read to the court.

Mr Connolly is also alleged to have snapped images of police computer systems, including details of complaints made against him.

Mr Wilson said: "The prosecution say 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."

Prosecutors told the court Mr Connolly claimed the photos were taken for police purposes, but had not been uploaded to official police systems.

Mr Connolly, of Huyton, Merseyside, denies four charges of misconduct in a public office.

The trial continues.

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