London police have concluded an internal review into an incident in which a woman was arrested in her home due to what investigators say was a "swatting."
Back in August, Clara Sorrenti, who was living in London at the time, posted a video online detailing how she was awakened by police at her door coming to arrest her. She alleged that one of the officers had pointed a gun at her face during the ordeal. Sorrenti claimed her arrest occurred because someone claiming to be her sent threatening letter to City of London staff.
While in custody, Sorrenti, a publicly transgender woman, claims officers mishandled her arrest and attempted to humiliate her by misgendering her and calling her by the name she had before she transitioned and legally changed it. As a result of her claims, London police chief Steve Williams announced there would be an investigation into the matter.
On Wednesday, a four-page document was released with details of the internal review, which will be discussed during Thursday's meeting of the London Police Services Board.
Inside the review, Williams noted that the investigation determined the report to the police was a 'swatting' incident, a false report made to lure armed police officers to a particular location, and Sorrenti was released. He also said that while concerns about the police service's response to swatting incidents and the treatment of a transgender individual (Sorrenti) were made, he found that the responding officers acted appropriately based on the information available.
"The actions of responding officers were based on their duty to protect the public, and themselves, given the genuine belief that an individual was in possession of a firearm and had threatened to shoot people," Williams wrote in the review. "I acknowledge that an armed police response can be a traumatic experience; however, the safety of our officers and members of the public cannot be compromised when responding to occurrences of this nature."
Concerning Sorrenti's assertions that she was called by the wrong name while in police custody, Williams has rebutted her claims. The chief said they were not accurate and that this was confirmed by audio and video recordings.
"I have reviewed the recordings and found our officers were polite, respectful, and professional, Williams wrote. "It is recognized however that a property bag in which the individual's personal items were stored was labelled with a previous name (her deadname) which was generated from our internal records management system."
Williams acknowledged that receiving her items seized by police with her former name on them was distressing for Sorrenti. He noted that police are not notified when someone changes their name, and an individual who legally changes their name is not required to report it to the police.
As a result of this, several changes have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented, including ongoing collaboration between police and the LGBTQ2+ community to ensure police are responsive to the needs of the LGBTQ2+ community. Williams said that training was provided to members working at the Headquarters Detention Unit about the treatment of transgendered individuals.
Following the incident, Sorrenti launched a GoFundMe to raise money she said would be used for legal fees and to help her relocate to avoid being swatted again. She also used her social media platform to shutdown the controversial website Kiwifarms.net which she claimed led to her personal information being doxxed several times.
