Woman Who Went Missing Finds CCTV Of Police Spending Hours Watching Netflix And Using Dumbbells
Some women’s worst nightmare is to go missing. Having the authority “Netflix and chill” instead of trying to find them must come pretty close to the second biggest fear.
A woman who had gone missing for half a day after suffering from a mental health crisis was utterly stunned when she discovered that the police, who had been sent to search for her, had spent several hours inside her home streaming shows and “chilling.”
A search party had been looking for 21-year-old Abbygail Lawton, in Wigan, UK, with a police helicopter and drone after concerns for her welfare on January 3, Metro reported.
21-year-old Abbygail Lawton, in Wigan, returned home to damning CCTV footage of the police while she had gone missing for 11 hours
Image credits: Abbygail Lawton
Abbygail had reportedly been missing for 11 hours before being found by two police officers. She had initially spent the night in a cell after being “arrested for wasting police time.”
When the mother-of-one returned home the next day and checked her CCTV, she claimed two officers had spent four hours in her home “mocking” her, as per Metro.
Two male officers and a female officer had reportedly arrived at Abbygail’s home just before 10 pm on the day she had gone missing.
Two male officers and a female officer had reportedly arrived at Abbygail’s home just before 10 pm on the day she had gone missing
Image credits: Abbygail Lawton
After conducting a search, the female officer allegedly told her colleagues, “You might as well chill here in case she comes back,” before explaining that she would leave the door unlocked.
The astonished woman told MailOnline: “When she left the address, the two male officers came in and turned on Netflix on my TV, making comments about what I had watched.
“They made comments that I’d watched the Boy in Striped Pajamas – which I had previously – and another series I’d watched.
After conducting a search, the female officer allegedly told her colleagues “You might as well chill here in case she comes back”
Image credits: Abbygail Lawton
“Then they say, ‘we could so [do] with watching something like Come Dine With Me’ before the other officer sees Dog’s Behaving Badly and starts saying how ’it’s quite good.’”
“They then choose something on Netflix and start watching TV. One of the officers then gets my dumbbell and starts doing weights, which you can see in the footage, before sitting back down.”
“Abbygail claimed one officer even looked directly into the camera and said: “Hello, Abbygail. I know you’re watching us.”
The two male officers were captured turning on Netflix and commenting about what Abbygail had watched
Image credits: Abbygail Lawton
CCTV also appeared to capture officers climbing along her wall instead of using the unlocked gate to enter her home.
Safe to say that the bewildered mom made a complaint to Greater Manchester Police, saying her privacy had been breached. She now reportedly claims she was wrongly arrested, as she was having a mental health crisis.
Abbygail admitted: “I’m disappointed and ashamed by the two officers sitting watching TV, the comments that they made, and how they acted [on] my property.
CCTV also appeared to capture officers climbing along her wall instead of using the unlocked gate to enter Abbygail’s home
Image credits: Abbygail Lawton
“I’ve not given them consent to be in my house or watch TV or use my gym equipment.
“It was as though they were mocking me and taking the mick while I was out in the woods in a crisis. The weather was awful that day, raining and cold. I was clearly having a mental health crisis, and they were just sat here watching TV as if to say, ‘F**k it, we don’t care if she’s missing.‘”
Following an investigation, the force determined that the behavior of the two officers did not breach the standards of professional behavior, but they should reflect on and learn from the complaint, Metro reported.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Greater Manchester is a busy jurisdiction, and there is always a 999 call to respond to, so it’s understandable that the publication of these CCTV images without explanation could undermine public trust and confidence.”
“Should’ve remained in their car,” a reader commented
As others have also said, this is an extremely poorly researched and presented story - the police officers were told to wait for her in case she returned, whilst other officers were searching for her. She had left the TV playing when she left the house, they did not turn it on. She commented that previously officers had waited in the car outside rather than in her house when she has gone missing - the greater issue is this woman failing to get whatever mental health support she needs, and her huge drain on police resources when multiple officers are dealing with her repeatedly rather than more important matters. Her cctv alerted her they were in her house, and yet she didn’t let anyone know she was safe and they could call off the search. She was charged with wasting police time, but those charges were dropped, which is the bigger issue.
So this woman, who was missing for only half a day before they started looking for her with a helicopter and drones. Says she was having a mental health crisis, fair enough, but was arrested for wasting police time and resources, and released next day. If she really was in crisis she would have been sent to a psychiatric ward for evaluation and probably a 72 hour involuntary hold. So she gets home and finds video of the police on her couch watching Netflix while waiting for her and gets furiously angry? I guess she felt the helicopter/drone search was a failure in being the center of attention and needed to create another way.
As others have also said, this is an extremely poorly researched and presented story - the police officers were told to wait for her in case she returned, whilst other officers were searching for her. She had left the TV playing when she left the house, they did not turn it on. She commented that previously officers had waited in the car outside rather than in her house when she has gone missing - the greater issue is this woman failing to get whatever mental health support she needs, and her huge drain on police resources when multiple officers are dealing with her repeatedly rather than more important matters. Her cctv alerted her they were in her house, and yet she didn’t let anyone know she was safe and they could call off the search. She was charged with wasting police time, but those charges were dropped, which is the bigger issue.
So this woman, who was missing for only half a day before they started looking for her with a helicopter and drones. Says she was having a mental health crisis, fair enough, but was arrested for wasting police time and resources, and released next day. If she really was in crisis she would have been sent to a psychiatric ward for evaluation and probably a 72 hour involuntary hold. So she gets home and finds video of the police on her couch watching Netflix while waiting for her and gets furiously angry? I guess she felt the helicopter/drone search was a failure in being the center of attention and needed to create another way.
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