Two London police officers have been fired after a years-long investigation. The officers subjected a Black teenage girl dubbed Child Q, to a strip search after suspicion of drug possession. However, it was discovered that she didn’t have drugs on her. Ultimately, the search was deemed not necessary or authorized. The entire experience was incredibly demeaning for the girl and her family, causing distrust of the police. But now, the case and subsequent decision to fire the officers may lead to positive change.
On June 26, 2025, London Metropolitan Police released a statement saying that officers involved in the incident, trainee Detective Constable Kristina Linge and Police Constable Rafal Szmydynski, “were dismissed without notice for gross misconduct.” A third officer, PC Victoria Wray “received a final written warning for two years after misconduct was proven.”
On December 3, 2020, the three officers were called to a school in Hackney, south London. School staff were concerned that the then 15-year-old girl smelled strongly of cannabis. Two female officers performed a thorough search of the girl, including a strip search. During the strip search, which took place in the school’s medical room, the girl’s “intimate parts” were exposed. No drugs were found.
“Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period,” Child Q said in a statement released by Bhatt Murphy Solicitors via the BBC.
“I can’t go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. I don’t know if I’m going to feel normal again. But I do know this can’t happen to anyone, ever again.”
Panel chair Metropolitan Police Commander Jason Prins, said the girl’s position as a “vulnerable or a potentially exploited child was not adequately considered.”
“The potential effect of a 15-year-old going through puberty had not been considered,” he added.
In May 2021, after complaints were filed, Metropolitan Police voluntarily sent the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. According to the release, the hearing found the “search on Child Q was unnecessary, inappropriate and disproportionate.” Additionally, the search was “carried out without authorisation from a more senior officer, without an appropriate adult present and a proper record was not made afterwards.”
Child Q’s mother also released a statement saying, “Professionals wrongly treated my daughter as an adult and as a criminal and she is a changed person as a result. Was it because of her skin? Her hair? Why her?”
According to the Metropolitan Police, the hearing did not find that officers were influenced by the race of Child Q.
“We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened,” Commander Kevin Southworth said in the Metropolitan Police statement. He added that he is “deeply sorry” to the family “for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence Black communities across London have in our officers.”
