Following the death of 20-year-old Benjamin Pieknyi, who was stabbed at the Stratford mall, two officers from Forest Gate North's Safer Neighbourhoods Team posted a selfie on social media in which they were seen smiling. The caption for the image was “Crime scene at Stratford mall today”. The image caused an outraged online and commenters were quick to express their anger.
Metropolitan Police apologised and deemed the move of posting the image at the crime scene as “insensitive”.
The apology issued by the police force stated, “We apologise for any offence caused by the 'selfie' picture that was posted from the scene of a serious crime. The officers showed a lack of judgement and sensitivity in posting this and they will be spoken to and reminded of how to use social media responsibly.”
Benjamin Pieknyi became the eighth person to be killed in London in the span of one week.
