London cop accused of swiping cash from actor who died while cycling on busy street
A British police officer was charged with misconduct Thursday after he was caught on bodycam footage allegedly swiping cash off the body of a dead actor in London.
Metropolitan Police Constable Craig Carter, 51, is accused of stealing £170, or $214, from Italian filmmaker Claudio Gaetani, who suffered a fatal heart attack while cycling on a busy city street in September 2022.
Carter “wilfully and without reasonable excuse or justification misconducted yourself in a way which amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder by stealing cash from a deceased male who has passed away in the street,” officials said.
Footage of the allegedly sticky-fingered cop counting the loot was uncovered when a friend of Gaetani noticed that his wallet was empty when it was returned by police.
Gaetani, 45, had exchanged over 200 Euros for the small sum at the airport the night before after he landed from Italy for a theatre festival in the Southbank, she told the Mirror.
He was on his way to meet with the friend and her husband he would be staying with when he collapsed and died from a heart attack.
“The money is not the issue. [Claudio] comes from quite a wealthy family. I’m still doing [this complaint] not because of the money but because people who are in uniform they should have a kind of trust. I think it is really disrespectful. I was really, really upset,” the friend told the outlet.
Carter was initially placed on restricted duties and then suspended after the charges were brought down Thursday.
He is due back at Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday. He has not yet entered a plea.
