Former City of London Police officer Isaac Keown has been dismissed without notice after he recorded body-worn camera footage of a vulnerable woman in distress and sent it to his cousin, a police officer in another force.
Incident and dismissal
PC Keown attended a domestic incident in August 2023 where a woman grabbed a knife, apparently intending to self-harm. He disarmed her, and the incident was captured on his body-worn camera. Later, he recorded part of that footage on his personal phone and sent it to his cousin, PC Treadwell, who serves in Gloucestershire.
Detective Superintendent Thomas Hill, Head of Professional Standards at City of London Police, said PC Keown "compromised the integrity of policing and trust the public place in us." He has been added to the police barred list, preventing him from ever working in policing again.
Panel findings
The misconduct panel found his actions were "deliberate, informed" and committed when he should have known his conduct was below expected standards. They determined this amounted to gross misconduct, leading to his dismissal.
In his initial response, PC Keown contested the allegation, saying he recorded the footage because the police station was busy and sent it to his cousin to "open her eyes to the challenges officers faced." However, during cross-examination, he admitted inconsistencies in his evidence, particularly regarding his reasons for recording.
Mental health considerations
A psychiatric report dated June 4, 2026, noted that PC Keown's presentation was "consistent with trauma and stressor-related difficulties arising from the index incident," but found no evidence of severe mental disorder impairing his reality testing or comprehension at the time.
PC Keown said the 2023 incident was his first encounter with an armed member of the public and that he captured the footage to avoid repeatedly accessing his body-worn camera recording. He also stated he was close to his cousin and that she was earlier in her career.
Force response
Det Supt Hill added: "Recording body-worn video onto a personal device and sharing that evidence with a third party without a policing purpose is wholly unacceptable. He compromised the integrity of policing and trust the public place in us. PC Keown will be immediately dismissed and placed on the police barred list, which will prevent him from ever working in policing again."
He emphasized that trust and confidence in policing are essential, and the force takes every action necessary to maintain professional standards.
