LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Met Police are being sued by a black student who was strip-searched upon being falsely accused of drug possession.
According to the legal firm Bhatt Murphy, the 15-year-old, otherwise known as Child Q, is pursuing a legal lawsuit against her school.
After a safeguarding assessment determined the search was inappropriate and prejudice was “likely” a role, Scotland Yard apologised.
The youngster, communicating via her attorneys, expressed her need for “cast-iron commitments to ensure this never happens again.”
A demonstration staged by Hackney Cop Watch outside Stoke Newington police station drew hundreds.
During the event, the girl was escorted from an examination to the school’s sickbay and strip-searched for marijuana by 2 female Met police officials, while teachers stayed outside.
Her parents also weren’t called and no other adult was around.
According to the report, her private parts were uncovered, and she was forced to remove her sanitary towel. There were no drugs discovered.
The victim’s mother informed the safeguarding review that her daughter was asked to return to the examination she had been taking following the strip search, with no teacher inquiring about her well-being.
Her family said that the girl had gone from being “top of the class” to being “a shell of her former bubbly self,” that she was now harming herself and in need of counselling.
One of the demonstrators told the BBC that she couldn’t fathom the “disgusting” abuse of the teenager.
The teenager’s treatment by the Met Police has sparked outrage.
“While we await the findings of the IOPC investigation, we have already taken action to ensure that our officers and staff have a refreshed understanding of the policy for conducting a further search,” as well as assistance on dealing with schools and making sure that children are treated as children,” said Met Police Commander Dr. Alison Heydari.
Image via BBC
