A City of London Police officer has been dismissed after recording footage of a vulnerable woman wielding a knife and sending it to his cousin.
Former PC Isaac Keown attended a domestic incident in August 2023 during which the woman grabbed a knife, seemingly intending to self-harm. He was able to disarm her, with the incident captured on his body-worn camera.
PC Keown was found to have later recorded part of the footage on a personal phone before sending it to his cousin, PC Treadwell, an officer in Gloucestershire.
Misconduct panel findings
Detective Superintendent Thomas Hill, Head of Professional Standards Department at the City of London Police, said PC Keown “compromised the integrity of policing and trust the public place in us”, adding he has been prevented from working in the industry again.
In a panel hearing report published by the force last month, it is written that the police had argued PC Keown breached his duty of confidentiality to “show off” to PC Treadwell.
In his initial response PC Keown contested this, saying he had recorded the incident on his phone because the police station was busy, and that he had sent it to his cousin to “open her eyes to the challenges officers faced”.
Psychiatric report and evidence
A psychiatry report dated June 4 this year stated PC Keown’s presentation “was consistent with trauma and stressor-related difficulties arising from the index incident, with features suggestive of unresolved trauma. However, at the time of the index event there was no evidence of a severe mental disorder impairing PC Keown’s reality testing or comprehension.”
At an interview under misconduct caution in November 2025, PC Keown said the 2023 incident was the first time he had encountered a member of the public with a weapon, and that he captured the footage as he did not want to keep accessing his body-worn camera recording. He added he was close with his cousin, PC Treadwell, and that she was further along in her career than he was. In cross-examination, he said he was fully aware of the force’s policies relating to confidentiality.
Dismissal and barred list
He also accepted there had been inconsistencies in his evidence, in particular his reasoning for recording the footage. The panel determining his case had regard to PC Keown’s character and positive statements submitted on his behalf, though raised concerns about his inability to explain some of his decisions.
They found his actions were “deliberate, informed” and committed in circumstances when he should have known his conduct was below that expected. As such, he was dismissed without notice and has been added to the barred list.
Det Supt Hill said: “The misconduct panel have found proven that PC Isaac Keown breached our standards of professional behaviour, confidentiality and discreditable conduct. They found that this amounted to gross misconduct. 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. Trust and confidence in policing is essential, and we take every action necessary to maintain our professional standards and expect all officers and staff to serve with integrity.”
