Police officer guilty of gross incompetence after teen domestic abuse victim's death

Twelve officers in total censured over death of Katrina Makunova in 2018

Katrina Makunova, 17, died during an altercation at her ex-boyfriend's house (Metropolitan Police)

Two police officers have been disciplined after they failed to properly investigate claims of harassment by a domestic abuse victim, who died shortly afterwards.  

Allegations of gross incompetence and unsatisfactory conduct were found proven against PC Sophie Dennis and PC Kerry Lynham, respectively, at a Metropolitan Police hearing. 

The pair had responded to a domestic incident at Katrina Makunova’s home in June 2018 after reports her ex-partner Oluwaseyi Dada, 23, had caused a disturbance. 

Police bodycam footage shown at the hearing reveals Makunova, 17, felt she was being harassed by Dada both at her home and her place of work and worried his behaviour could escalate into violence. 

Just a few weeks later, the teenager died during an argument with Dada when she fell onto a knife she was carrying in her handbag. 

Dada was convicted of manslaughter in January last year and sentenced to two years and three months in prison. The court heard how Makunova had made five separate allegations of assault and harassment in the months leading up to her death.

Although PC Dennis and PC Lynham escaped being struck off as police officers, both were censured for failing to follow the proper protocol when dealing with a suspected victim of domestic abuse. 

PC Dennis did not take a statement from Makunova, and neither did she complete two mandatory domestic violence forms. Later, she lied by claiming the correct paperwork had been done at the scene when filling her her crime report, while PC Lynham did nothing to prevent this.

Commander Alison Heydari, who chaired the disciplinary panel, said that the pair had been “premature and incorrect” to presume the incident was not a potential criminal offence. "The body-worn footage shows a course of conduct that amounts to harassment," she said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) conducted its own investigation into the incident and concluded PC Dennis should face charges for gross misconduct, while PC Lynham had a case of gross incompetence to answer.

Ultimately, the Met panel found PC Dennis had been grossly incompetent and gave her a final written improvement notice for 12 months, which means any further complaints against her would end her career. PC Lynham’s conduct was deemed to be only “unsatisfactory”; she was given a written improvement notice as well. 

Sal Naseem, regional director for the IOPC, said: “By not doing their jobs in the way they were trained and paid to, PC Dennis and PC Lynham – and the other officers in this case - utterly failed Katrina Makunova and, as a result, her family and friends.

“In addition, PC Dennis attempted to cover her tracks by lying about her investigative actions at the scene on a subsequent crime report and PC Lynham did nothing to stop this. This was unacceptable behaviour.”

Alongside the pair, 10 other officers have also been censured in connection with Makunova’s death. The teenager’s mother attended the hearing on Tuesday, shaking her head when submissions were made in defence of PC Dennis and PC Lynham. 

Richard Atchley, who represented PC Dennis, said was a “proactive, involved officer, and with this exception, a very professional officer”.

"She has not sought to duck and dive away from the responsibility. We all have bad days, and this was clearly one of hers."

David Yeo, representing PC Lynham, noted 27 other Met Police officers had written character statements on behalf of the constable. "In your findings she made an error of judgment, but that is it in 12 years of service to the people of London," he argued.

However, the deputy commissioner of the Met, Sir Stephen House, said “We expect all our officers to take allegations of domestic abuse extremely seriously and follow proper procedures to safeguard victims.

"We join policing to protect people like Miss Makunova and I am deeply ashamed that these officers failed her. My thoughts are with Miss Makunova's family and friends.”