Five police officers ‘shared misogynistic and racist messages’ with Wayne Couzens months before he killed Sarah Everard
FIVE police officers "shared misogynistic and racist messages" with Wayne Couzens months before he brutally raped and murdered Sarah Everard, it has been revealed.
The cops, some of who are now under criminal investigation, allegedly shared the "vile" messages in a chat with the killer - who will now spend his entire life behind bars for his heinous crimes.
Five serving police officers, including three from the Metropolitan Police, are said to have shared grossly offensive material with Wayne Couzens on a WhatsApp group.
The alleged messages were misogynistic, racist and homophobic in nature, reports
This damning revelation comes after Cressida Dick yesterday said "I'm so sorry" to Sarah Everard's family as Britain's embattled top copper faced a frenzy of calls to resign.
The Met Police commissioner is hanging by a thread after cold-blooded cop Couzens kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah on her watch.
She said that Couzens had brought shame on the force in “one of the most dreadful events in the 192-year history of the Metropolitan Police”.
But the criminal investigation into Wayne Couzens' colleagues - who are believed to have exchanged "vile" messages with each other - has caused a fresh wave of doubt among Britain's policing units.
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Three serving Met Police officers, an officer from Norfolk constabulary and another from the civil nuclear constabulary - where Couzens previously worked - are being investigated for gross misconduct.
The watchdog said that the messages, also shared with a former Met officer, were of a “discriminatory and/or inappropriate nature”.
Two of the Met officers and the former officer are being criminally investigated for sending grossly offensive material.
Aside from the messages found in the group, the IOPC is also carrying out inquiries into officers who have joked about violence against women.
Other officers are alleged to have inappropriately shared information connected to Couzens’ prosecution.
During the case, it emerged that Couzens was known by other officers as "the rapist" and had previously been a flasher - prompting serious questions over how he was allowed to keep his job.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “sickened” by the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, adding: “No woman should have to fear harassment or violence.”
But he stuck up for the nation's police, saying they are "there to protect us" and insisted: "People must be able to walk on our streets without fear of harm and with full confidence that the police are there to keep them safe."
Home Secretary Priti Patel weighed in, saying it was right that the "monster" was given a whole life sentence.
She said there were "serious questions" for the Met Police to answer over the killing, but dodged questions on whether Dick should stay in post or quit.
Zoë Billingham, an inspector at Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, said that Couzens’ actions had “struck a hammer blow to the very heart of police legitimacy”.
She told the BBC: “We cannot dismiss Wayne Couzens as a one-off, as a rarity, as an aberration.
“We must see every single police force in England and Wales now stepping forward to tell its communities precisely what it is doing to ensure women are safe.”
A Norfolk Constabulary spokeswoman said: “We’re fully co-operating with the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) in the course of their investigation.
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"We can confirm the officer has been suspended from duty while the allegations are under investigation. The IOPC are leading this investigation which is ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
The Met Police has been contacted for comment.
