A grieving mum said a police officer who took selfies at the scene of her son's stabbing has made a 'mockery of his death'.
PC Ryan Connolly took photographs of himself 'lying down' at The Nook park in south Liverpool where Daniel Gee-Jamieson had suffered a fatal knife wound.
Connolly has since been sacked by Merseyside Police after an internal investigation revealed three significant breaches of professional standards.
READ MORE: Merseyside police officer took selfies at murder scene and sent racist WhatsApp messages
Daniel's mum Mandy has now revealed to the ECHO how she only found out about Connolly's despicable behaviour when a national newspaper reporter investigating the story knocked on her door.
Mandy said Connolly had been sent to The Nook park after her son had died from stab wounds in July 2018.
She said that while he was at the crime scene Connolly had posed for selfies while 'lying down' on the floor.
The photographs, which did not show Daniel's body, were taken on Connolly's personal phone which was later confiscated by the force
Mandy said: "I just feel like Connolly has made a mockery of my son's death. Like it was all a big joke.
"I would love to meet him to tell him what a vile man he is. He is vile and warped. How did he get into the police in the first place."
Mandy told the ECHO that a reporter from a national newspaper broke the news to her when he knocked on her front door.
She said: "I did not know a thing about this until a journalist knocked on my door yesterday ( Wednesday) morning and told me. Surely that was not the right way for this to happen.
"I was really confused so I contacted Mayor Joanne Anderson, who then contacted the police. At around 6pm Wednesday a detective phoned me and explained that the story was true.
"She told me that Connolly had taken selfies at the crime scene on his own phone which was later seized by the force.
"She made the point that Connolly had not been directly involved in the investigation, but that was hardly the point.
"They knew all along that he had taken selfies at the park where my son was stabbed and chose not to tell me."
Mandy added: "Surely the force should have reached out and provided some clarity.
"Christmas is always a difficult time for me and this has not helped."
Mandy arrived at the park on the night of July 3, 2018, to find her son dying from a knife wound.
Daniel, who trained at a well respected boxing club in north Liverpool, was stabbed in the leg after a fight with another boy, Owen Cousins, who pulled out a knife.
None of five teenage witnesses to the fight on The Nook, at 9.10pm that night, said they saw Daniel with a weapon.
The young Liverpool FC fan was rushed to hospital but doctors were unable to save him.
Daniel's mum had to endure intimidation and threats from local yobs after her son's death. Scrambler thugs also marred the actual funeral.
Cousins was charged with murder but was cleared by a jury, who instead found him guilty of manslaughter.
The then 17-year-old was jailed for 11 years.
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "In relation to the Connolly Gross Misconduct hearing, we have spoken to a family and confirmed that a selfie style picture was taken of an officer at the scene of their son's murder.
"We can confirm that the picture did not contain any further detail, and we have apologised to them for the distress caused by this person’s actions."
Merseyside Police's statement following Connolly's dismissal from the force
Merseyside Police released disturbing details of how Connolly had abused his position with the force.
A disciplinary panel found that Connolly had taken pictures of vulnerable people on his personal phone while on duty.
The panel also found that Connolly had stored racist and homophobic images on his personal phone.
Connolly also maintained a relationship with a known criminal and failed to disclose this matter to the force.
DCC Ian Critchley, said: “I can confirm that a former police officer has been formally dismissed from post following a gross misconduct hearing.
“The hearing was called following a robust investigation by our Anti-Corruption Unit, who uncovered evidence that Connolly was failing to uphold the standards and behaviours of officers and staff who work for Merseyside Police.
“I am appalled by Connolly’s actions, they are beyond comprehension and are not in keeping with the high standards and values that we expect here at Merseyside Police.
“Our officers carry out exceptionally brave selfless acts every single day, protecting the most vulnerable people in our communities, yet here we see the despicable acts of a very selfish individual who has no place in our Police Service.
“An investigation by our Anti-Corruption Unit uncovered the fact that Connolly had been using his own phone to take photographs of vulnerable people whilst on duty and that the phone also contained appalling homophobic, racist and offensive images.
“It also revealed that Connolly was an associate of a known criminal and had not declared this association. His actions are an insult to the uniform and the police service, which consistently strives to protect our communities and provide a professional and inclusive service to the people of Merseyside.
“The behaviour of this officer is deplorable and serves to undermine the public's confidence and trust in the police.
“We are quite clear, if any officer is found to be behaving in a way that does not meet our high standards we will take swift and robust action.
“Colleagues as well as the public are being proactive in identifying those who have no place in Merseyside Police.
“We have introduced a number of additional processes within the force to identify those who could bring the force in to disrepute including enhanced vetting processes and we are working with all colleagues to ensure they adhere to our force standards around the acceptable and appropriate use of social media.
“We are constantly learning and working with our staff networks, our Police Federation and Unions, our Independent Advisory Group and community contacts to continue to recruit from all our diverse communities, to help us identify areas where we can develop our policing approach and community engagement. The Chief Constable is very clear that these are the priorities for our service, for colleagues and the public . We are listening and we are acting as can be seen in this case.
"The decision today sends out a clear message and shows that Merseyside Police is committed to providing the public with a professional, understanding and inclusive policing service and we will not tolerate any abuse of office.
“We encourage both the public and our officers and staff to come forward if they witness wrongdoing, and we will act as you have seen in this case, quickly and professionally.
“The Police Service will not tolerate this type of behaviour. We are rooting out those who have no place in policing. The acts of officers like Connolly seriously undermines the good work going on every day across the force, but I will continue to shout loudly about the professional, empathetic, selfless, brave, inclusive colleagues who everyday put the communities first in everything they do.
"These acts should never be overshadowed by the acts of someone like Connolly who rightly been criminally convicted and is no longer a part of Merseyside Police, a service and force, that is here to proudly protect and serve our communities.”
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
