Police officers win £50,000 payout over photo with singer Tallia Storm
Two police officers who stopped singer and social media star Tallia Storm and asked her for a picture have won a £50,000 payout after they got punished for the photo.
A video appeared on TikTok in March 2024 which showed PC Steven Jones and PC Greg Tunnock going up to the singer to get a photo while in Edinburgh, but the officers had their authorisation to carry firearms permanently revoked as a result, they were then transferred out of the Operational Services Division.
The police officers said they'd secured their car and only left it for a minute, and that they'd approached the singer for a photo to show that Police Scotland could interact with the community in a positive way.
However, their superiors were worried that the officers stopping to take a picture with a female celebrity could be seen as sexist and they had their authorisation revoked.
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An employment tribunal found that there was nothing sexist about what the police officers had done, noting that Tallia Storm 'had welcomed and been delighted with the engagement'.
The tribunal found that both officers mental health had suffered significantly as a result of their treatment, which involved them being made to do menial tasks and at one point were 'humiliated in front of their colleagues' when they were ordered to stop delivering ammunition because they were no longer authorised to use firearms.
PC Jones will receive compensation worth £24,800 while PC Tunnock will be paid £23,824.
The employment tribunal found that the officers were discriminated against because of their sex, with employment judge Amanda Jones saying: "The claimants were directly discriminated against because of their sex by the respondent by permanently withdrawing their firearms authorisation and by insisting on their transfer from the operational services division."
The verdict on the two officers was that they 'came across as genuine, credible and reliable', with PC Tunnock mentioned specifically for the way he 'answered questions in a particularly straightforward manner'.
Conversely, the tribunal found that the now-retired Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie, who had made the decision to revoke their firearms authorisation, found some parts of his evidence unsatisfactory.
They said: "The Tribunal did not find some of his evidence to be either credible or reliable.
"Rather the Tribunal was of the view that GR had over time sought to develop the reasons for the action taken by him in light of the complaints which were put forward by the claimants.
"His evidence came across more as dogmatic, than direct at times and he was uncomfortable at his evidence being challenged. He did not make any concessions even where the documentary evidence contradicted his position, and gave contradictory evidence."
Joe Harker