Officer who 'viewed school gun deaths video' banned

Emma Pattison, seen here with her husband and daughter, became the first female head of Epsom College in September 2022

A police officer who watched bodycam footage believed to show the head teacher of Epsom College and her family after they were shot dead has been banned from the profession.

Emma Pattison, 45, was found dead alongside her daughter Lettie, 7, at the school in February last year. Her husband, George Pattison, 39, is believed to have shot them before killing himself.

Baseer Ahmed, of Surrey Police, admitted watching body-worn video footage, which the BBC and the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands was from officers attending the scene, but denied he did so without a "policing purpose".

Ahmed is now banned from policing after a misconduct panel found he did not watch the video as part of a genuine work activity.

Surrey Police said they are not officially confirming what body worn footage Mr Ahmed viewed due to “other ongoing judicial processes” that have not yet been concluded.

Baseer Ahmed had worked at Surrey Police in various roles since 2018

Mrs Pattison and her family were found dead at a property in the grounds of Epsom College shortly after 01:00 GMT on 5 February. Police said at the time they were confident there was no third-party involved.

The BBC understands that on 7 February, Mr Ahmed viewed the footage of police officers attending the scene of the deaths.

Professional standards state that there must be a policing purpose for officers to access body-worn camera footage, to ensure it is not accessed unnecessarily.

Mr Ahmed, who did not attend the police misconduct hearing panel on 1 July due to "personal reasons", worked as a staff officer.

'Unacceptable behaviour'

His role included accessing “additional information”, however the panel found Mr Ahmed did not appear to be watching the video as part of a genuine work activity.

When watching the video, he made no notes, did not attempt to discover the location of the incident or tell any senior colleagues about it.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service found Mr Ahmed quit the force on 15 December. His last day was 15 January this year. He would have been sacked had he not already resigned.

Head of professional standards, Supt Andy Rundle, said Mr Ahmed's behaviour was unacceptable.

A full inquest into the deaths is scheduled for 30 July.