Sarah Everard assassination: police investigate the killer’s homophobic and racist messages exchanged with colleagues

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A police watchdog is said to be investigating homophobic, racist and misogynistic messages that Sarah Everards’ killer allegedly exchanged with fellow police officers.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was investigating the conduct of five on-duty officers and a former Metropolitan Police officer from a Whatsapp group.

They reportedly exchanged discriminatory messages for seven months in 2019.

The messages were discovered during the police investigation into the murder of Ms Everards.

Wayne Couzens, a former Met officer, was sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping, rape and murder of the 33-year-old marketing manager on Wednesday.

The Times reported that he was the former officer linked to the Whatsapp group under investigation.

He would have had misogynistic, racist and homophobic exchanges with colleagues, according to the newspaper.

Three of the serving officers under investigation by the IOPC are from the Met, one from the Norfolk Constabulary and the last from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, where Couzens previously worked.

They are under investigation for serious misconduct for allegedly sending messages of a discriminatory and / or inappropriate nature, and for allegedly failing to challenge messages sent by others, the IOPC said in an update. of his investigations related to the result of Couzens’ conviction.

Two of the Met officers and the former Met officer were also told they were under criminal investigation for misuse of the public electronic communications network, the watchdog said.

The Met is also investigating whether Couzens committed other crimes before kidnapping, raping and murdering Ms Everard.

The force also admitted that a previous allegation of indecent exposure could have been missed during its verification process.

Couzens was also linked to an incident of indecent exposure at a McDonalds in Kent just 72 hours before Ms Everard was kidnapped in March.

Dame Cressida Dick, the Met commissioner, said Couzens put the force to shame after her conviction.

Couzens was sentenced to life in the Old Bailey on Thursday by Lord Justice Fulford, who said his distorted, selfish and brutal offenses had eroded trust in the police.

The judge said he had been planning for at least a month before kidnapping Ms Everard as she returned home from a friends house in Clapham, south London, on March 3.

Couzens, who was searching for a victim, used his warrant card and handcuffs to snatch the marketing executive off the street using Covid lockdown rules to make a false arrest.

Lord Justice Fulford has said the case in which a serving officer abused his position was so exceptional that it warrants a life sentence, meaning Couzens will never be released.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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