Three police officers have today been charged over sharing racist and misogynistic messages with the man who raped and murdered York woman Sarah Everard.
The Metropolitan Police officers worked with Wayne Couzens, who is serving a whole life prison term for the brutal kidnap and killing of Ms Everard, 33.
Two serving Metropolitan Police officers and one former officer have been charged with sending grossly offensive messages on WhatsApp, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) sent prosecutors a file on allegations the three shared racist and misogynistic messages with Couzens between April and August 2019.
The three are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 March. The CPS said it cannot confirm the names of the officers for operational reasons.
Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “Following a referral of evidence by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the CPS has authorised charges against two serving Metropolitan Police officers and one former officer.
“All three will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 March for their first hearing.
“Each of the three defendants has been charged with sending grossly offensive messages on a public communications network. The alleged offences took place on a WhatsApp group chat.
“The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges to a court to consider.
“Criminal proceedings are active and nothing should be published that could jeopardise the defendants right to a fair trial.”
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Wayne Couzens, 48, was a serving PC with the Metropolitan Police when he kidnapped Ms Everard as she walked home in Clapham, south London, on the evening of 3 March 2021.
Ms Everard, who was a pupil at Fulford School, went to Durham University.
She moved to London for work around 12 years ago. She was working as a marketing executive when Couzens abducted her by ‘arresting’ her on false charges.
Her father Jeremy, a professor at the University of York, and her mother Susan, issued a statement after Couzens was jailed for a whole life term, saying: “Nothing can make things better, nothing can bring Sarah back, but knowing he will be imprisoned forever brings some relief.”