Police caught watching Netflix at missing woman’s home

A woman has lashed out at two police officers after she caught them on surveillance video watching Netflix and lifting weights in her home while she was missing.

Abbygail Lawton, 21, was suffering a mental health crisis when paramedics raised the alarm about her welfare and called police. Two officers were filmed on her sofa watching TV and using weights at her home in Wigan after being told to “chill at home” in case she came home.

But although bosses have since spoken to both officers about their conduct, they have concluded they did not breach professional standards of behaviour. Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) Professional Standards Division said the two officers “should reflect and learn from the complaint”.

Abbygail, a mother-of-one, went missing for several hours on January 3 before two other officers found her. She was then “arrested for wasting police time” and spent 12 hours in police custody before being released without charge.

“Disappointed and ashamed”

When she finally returned home and reviewed the CCTV footage, she saw the two officers making themselves comfortable in her home. She was shocked to see the men sitting on her sofa, with their feet up, while watching programmes on her television.

In her living room, they pointed out that she had recently watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and had started exercising. At one point, they even looked directly at the camera to say, “Hi Abbygail, I know you’re watching.”

Abbygail said: “You hear them say ‘we could do that while watching something like Come Dine With Me’ before the other one sees Dog’s Behaving Badly and starts saying ‘that’s pretty good’. They then pick something on Netflix and start watching TV.

“One of the officers then takes my dumbbell and starts lifting weights, which you can see in the video, before sitting back down.”

Abbygail was in the woods when she was alerted on her phone that there was activity at her house and said she was furious that they had invaded her privacy.

She added: “I am disappointed and ashamed of the two police officers sitting in front of the television, the comments they made and the way they acted on my property. I did not give them consent to be in my home, to watch television or to use my gym equipment.”

“It was like they were laughing at me and making fun of me while I was in the woods having a meltdown.”

Images could ‘undermine public confidence’

A GMP spokesman said it was “understandable” that the release of the CCTV footage “without explanation could undermine public confidence”. However, he added that officers were required to remain at the scene in case she returned, as a safety precaution, while a wider search was carried out.

Police said in a statement: “During the assessment, police reviewed all available recordings and images and spoke with those involved. Considering all the circumstances, it was determined that while both officers needed to reflect and learn from the complaint, their conduct did not contravene professional standards of behaviour.

“The complainant was informed of this decision and of her right to request a review of the outcome – if she so wishes.”

A spokesperson for GMP’s Professional Standards Branch added: “Greater Manchester is a busy jurisdiction and there is always a 999 call to answer, so it is understandable that the release of this CCTV footage without explanation could damage public confidence.

“What the CCTV does not show is that the presence of officers at the property for a prolonged period had been agreed with those leading the operation to ensure the woman was protected if she returned to the property, as she had indicated she was attempting to do.

“The officers were interviewed and understand that even if the television had been left on and the dumbbells had been left outside, they should have refrained from watching or using them while deployed on location.”