No disciplinary action should be taken if a satisfactory explanation is given by the police constable who is seen dancing in a video uploaded on social media, since she did not fail in her duties as an officer, lawyer Dr Amadeus Cachia said.
Last Saturday, a young female officer posted a video on the social media platform TikTok of her dancing to a popular TikTok trend. This video went viral after someone falsely linked the video to the police’s lack of action during last Monday’s Floriana FC celebrations at the Granaries in Floriana, which showed a complete disregard of social distancing measures.
In a statement on Wednesday, the police said that when the police administration came to know about the video, the constable was ordered to remove it, while an investigation was initiated by the police internal affairs unit. Disciplinary proceedings were also taken, the police said, without further specifications.
On Thursday, a petition addressed to the police was set up calling for no disciplinary action to be taken against her, “as she was simply trying to cheer people up in her video.” Over 3,400 individuals have signed it so far.
The Malta Independent spoke with lawyer Cachia, who gave his legal perspective on whether or not the police constable in question deserves disciplinary action.
He believes that this video was produced and uploaded with good intentions and the police constable in question had no intention of putting the Police Force in bad light.
“Personally, I do not see any problems with this video especially as it transpired that such video was recorded and produced during the hours of her break, and thus she was not skiving work or her working duties,” Cachia said. “It was only when her video was put into context with other scenarios (Floriana FC celebrations) that it made it seem as though the video and the producer of this video did something wrong, but in reality the video itself has nothing wrong in it.”
For this reason, Cachia believes that the Police Force should speak with the constable in question to gather her version of facts and her intentions. “Thus, no police disciplinary action should be taken if she gives a satisfactory explanation since in no way did she fail her duties as a police officer as stipulated by the Police Act.”
He pointed out that the Police Act stipulates that in proceedings before the Disciplinary Board the following penalties may be awarded for not serious offences: a fine not exceeding seven day's pay; stoppage of weekly rest days, not exceeding seven days; severe reprimand; reprimand and caution.
Asked if there was a breach of privacy and data protection by those who used the video without the police officer’s consent, he said that if she uploaded it on the public domain then unfortunately she lost control of its privacy.
“Unfortunately, in today's world everything is accessible to everyone and one has to be diligent and exercise due care before posting anything online since once something is made public one does not have control on it or how it would be used or how it would be amended,” Dr Cachia explained.
However, he noted that everyone should respect the material which is uploaded by another person and should assess the situation before changing or putting videos into context, and, once such a thing is done, one must be responsible of its contents.
This newsroom also asked the police department if they will be opening investigations against those who misused the video. It said that investigations regarding allegations made are underway and the police cannot divulge any information on on-going investigations. "I refer you to our Press Release issued yesterday whereby it was stated that the Police Force did not order anyone, other than the officer concerned, to remove the video from any social media platforms. An investigation into these allegations is also currently underway."