A London police officer has been put on disciplinary notice after a two-year investigation found he conducted a “degrading” strip search of a Black woman back in 2020.
The woman had been arrested after being accused of having drugs in her possession. The driver operating the vehicle she was in was reportedly driving erratically in the London Borough of Lewisham and was arrested as well.
The investigation, led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), revealed that Police Sergeant Dru Hussey, violated several legal requirements and did not comply with force policy.
“Anyone who is in police custody is entitled to be treated with respect and courtesy,” said IOPC regional director Sal Naseem. “Our investigation found the way the strip search was conducted appeared to have failed to comply with the law, police policy and could be perceived as degrading.”
The woman, who remains unidentified, was ordered to be searched, but she refused. After resisting, the officer threw her on the ground, arrested her and took her to the Lewisham Police Station, where they strip searched her but found nothing.
“Officers never explained to the woman what was happening and her questions were ignored. This incident was highly distressing for her and undermines wider public confidence in the Metropolitan Police Service,” said Naseem. “As the officer in charge of the strip search, the independent panel has rightly found that PS Hussey failed in his responsibilities to safeguard her welfare, protect her legal rights and ensure she was treated with dignity and respect.”
She was subsequently charged with obstructing a drug search which they later dropped.
The IOPC has found that Officer Hussey “failed to respect the woman’s dignity as an individual or human being. It was also noted the woman was in a lonely and vulnerable place and PS Hussey failed to protect and safeguard her rights,” according to a report in The Independent.
The IOPC reviewed body camera footage, CCTV, mobile phone footage, custody records, incident logs, radio transmissions and accounts from other officers to find that the officer used excessive force.
“These allegations arose from a difficult situation with the woman involved resisting and restrained by officers,” said Superintendent Wayne Matthews. “Regardless, strip search is an intrusive power we must use responsibly given the impact it can have, and we must follow procedure. The panel has found Sgt Hussey did not do so in this case.”
