Police who tweeted a Top Gun GIF to celebrate identifying a woman’s body are now under scrutiny from another force after a watchdog report criticised the investigation into her death.
The investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) suggested that Kent Police detectives failed to properly gather, record or assess all information before concluding that Azra Kemal’s death was not suspicious.
The Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Professional Standards Department is currently reviewing the investigation.
It is four years since the 24-year-old died in July 2020 after falling from a dual carriageway bridge over the River Medway on the A21 in Kent. Her car had broken down nearby and caught fire. She was travelling back to London with a friend.
Kent Police CSI posted a Top Gun GIF on their Twitter feed following an investigation
In a tweet, published on the day of Mrs. Kemal’s deathKent Police praised its crime scene officers for their speedy work using a GIF from the film Top Gun, where characters Maverick and Goose give each other a high five.
This celebration took place because they “identified the deceased within 90 minutes of arriving at the scene.”
The police watchdog’s report said the message could reinforce concerns that “the force is being rushed to complete its investigations”.
After discovering the tweet, Ms Kemal’s mother, Nevres Kemal, told Sky News it was “just horrific”. She had already filed a complaint in areas where she felt her daughter’s death had not been properly investigated.
His complaint said “procedures were not followed, evidence was not collected, witness details were not followed.”
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In memory of the “phenomenal” Azra Kemal
Ms Kemal, 24, died after falling from a dual carriageway
It is suggested that “presumptions were made” about Azra Kemal’s character and that the only suspect in a potential murder investigation was released as a witness before his account was properly examined and other evidence such as forensic analysis and witness statements obtained.
The IOPC report published late last year said: “Having considered the reasons for the review and all supporting material, I agree with your concerns.”
The author of the report said the investigator had “taken risks” by releasing the suspect as a witness within 24 hours of Ms Kemal’s death, but had “failed to justify” why he had done so in his notes “while relying heavily on evidence provided by the suspect”.
Azra’s mother, Nevres, has asked police to reopen the investigation
The report’s author added: “In my view, I do not believe that all available information was collected, recorded and thoroughly assessed before a decision was made… and therefore the level of service here is not acceptable.”
This decision to release the suspect led to another decision not to conduct a full forensic autopsy of Ms Kemal’s body to look for further evidence of suspicious events that occurred before her fall. This decision is also criticised in the report.
Ms Kemal’s mother, who is supported by the Centre for Women’s Justice, wants police to reopen the investigation into her daughter’s death.
Nevres Kemal said: “Kent Police decided Azra’s life was worthless, so they didn’t look at the evidence and didn’t investigate her death because they decided not to.
“Everyone in this country deserves to have the deaths of their loved ones investigated properly and in accordance with the law. No one is above the law, especially not the police. As long as I breathe, I will prosecute the people who betrayed my child.”
Azra Kemal’s fresco under the road from where it fell
Initially, a review of the Kent Police investigation by Essex Police found it “acceptable”, but the new IOPC report, seen by Sky News, concluded that the investigation “was neither reasonable nor proportionate”.
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Referring to the Top Gun tweet, the author of the IOPC report told the complainant: “It appeared to you that the force made public that it was satisfied with the speedy resolution of this incident; I understand that a complaint was made about the content of tweets published by the force shortly after the incident.
“While it is not appropriate for me to go into the details of these tweets given the ongoing complaint, I refer to them as I understand that doing so would only heighten your concerns that the police were in a hurry to complete their investigations and were not thorough in their analysis and review of the evidence.”
Azra’s mother says her daughter should have had a forensic autopsy
Kent Police told Sky News they were “assisting with an independent review of the investigation into the death of Azra Kemal on 16 July 2020”.
“It would be inappropriate to make further comment until the results of the investigation have been established,” police added.
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The complaints are now the subject of a further independent investigation by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Professional Standards Department.
