UK Police Officer Sacked For Photographing Dead Person

A police officer in the United Kingdom, PC Timothy Robson, has been dismissed from the Metropolitan Police after taking a photograph of a deceased person and showing the image to colleagues.

The Metropolitan Police said Robson was dismissed following a misconduct hearing at which a panel upheld several allegations against him.

“On 10 September 2025, PC Robson attended to a sudden death and took a photograph on his personal mobile phone. He had no legitimate policing purpose to do so,” the police said. “PC Robson went on to show or offered to show the image to several of his colleagues.”

According to the force, Robson’s actions amounted to breaches of the standards of professional behaviour relating to discreditable conduct, authority, respect and courtesy, as well as duties and responsibilities.

The Metropolitan Police said Robson was dismissed without notice and would be placed on the College of Policing barred list, meaning he would be prohibited from returning to the police service or working for certain other policing-related organisations.

Superintendent Jai Singh of the North East Area Command apologised to the deceased person’s family, describing Robson’s actions as abhorrent and saying he had shown no regard for the dignity of the deceased or their loved ones.

“I am grateful to the colleagues who came forward to report this behaviour, enabling us to take decisive action against an officer whose conduct fell significantly short of the high standards we expect of all our officers and staff,” Singh said.