Sarah Everard: Cop guarding murder site taken off case for sharing sick joke after her abduction and death
A Met police officer, who was working at Sarah Everard’s murder site, has been placed on restricted duties for sharing a sick joke about her abduction and murder. The cop, whose name has not been revealed, reportedly sent a meme to his colleagues containing six images of a uniformed cop kidnapping a woman. The twisted joke was shared on social media the night after Everard’s remains were found.
The cop was reported to the bosses by his colleagues and soon after that, he was ordered to be on restricted duties with no direct involvement with the public. He has also been asked not to work on the case, which has shaken the whole of the UK.
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave said, “The MPS expects its officers to behave professionally at all times and this includes how they use social media. I take allegations that any officer or officers have failed to observe these standards very seriously and have referred this matter to the IOPC.”
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A source also commented on the incident and said, “There was one officer who found it worthy of making a joke about. It was disgraceful.” Ex-Met detective chief inspector Mick Neville added, “Being a frontline officer, dealing with crime and misery, often requires a gallows sense of humor to let off steam."
"But any decent officer knows the limits. Joking about a horrific murder and kidnap, whilst the family is grieving, is completely unacceptable. The last thing the Met needs is anything else to undermine the public’s trust in the force. This will do just that.”
On March 3, Everard was last seen before she went missing in southwest London. Days later, on last Wednesday night, March 10, her body was found in a builder's bag in woods on a disused golf course at Great Chart, near Ashford, Kent. Met armed officer Wayne Couzens has been accused of the crime as he faces kidnap and murder charges.
Her kidnap and murder have sparked outrage nationwide while Met launched a high-level internal inquiry. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is also investigating it.
A vigil was held in memory of Everard on Saturday night, March 13, but it has been reported that police used heavy-handed tactics to arrest women at the event on Clapham Common, South West London, near the area where the 33-year-old marketing executive disappeared. Because of the alleged harsh methods used by the cops, thousands signed a petition demanding the resignation of Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.
The message on the Change.org page stated, “After various comments and news articles over the last few weeks, it has become apparent that Cressida Dick is not capable of seeing the full truth of why the country's crime rate is skyrocketing. But she is constantly shifting blame onto people or groups that have no cause or involvement in said crimes. I therefore start this petition to call for her resignation and instate a police chief that is more capable and up to the task.”
But Dick dismissed the call and said the Everard case “appalls me”, while adding it made her “more determined, not less” to continue her work. The 60-year-old stated that “all the women and men of the Met are outraged at what has happened and they’re working as hard as they can to get justice for Sarah.”