UK police force apologizes for failing slain sisters' family

London’s police force has apologized to the family of two murdered sisters and said its initial response to the crime was “below the standard that it should have been.”

LONDON -- London’s police force has apologized to the family of two murdered sisters, saying its initial response to the crime was “below the standard that it should have been.”

The mother of the two women dismissed the apology Tuesday as too little, too late, saying the Metropolitan Police force had not taken responsibility for its “reprehensible” failings.

Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, were stabbed to death as they celebrated a birthday in a London park in June 2020.

An investigation by the Independent Office of Police Conduct found that the Metropolitan Police mishandled the initial missing persons reports by the sisters’ friends and family. It said information was recorded inaccurately, and a call handler was initially “dismissive.”