Police officer Wayne Couzens was arrested on Wednesday, suspected of kidnapping and killing 33-year-old Sarah Everard. He is also suspected of having exposed himself to another woman, and the London police will now be investigated for their handling of the bare episode.
The blotting is said to have taken place at a fast food restaurant on February 28, five days before Everard disappeared.
The special unit is investigating
Police are criticized for not taking the bare episode seriously, and the incident is being investigated by the British special unit IOPC.
– The investigation will see how the Metropolitan police processed a report that a man exposed himself at a fast food restaurant in south London, the special unit says in a statement.
– Police officers placed flowers at the place where the body was found on Thursday. Photo: Paul Childs / REUTERS
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The Metropolitan Police, Britain’s largest police unit, was deeply shocked by the news that the suspect was one of their own.
Everard’s disappearance is still under investigation, and police are searching at a golf course in Kent, where police announced on Wednesday that they have found a body. The body has not yet been identified, and police say the process will take “significant amounts of time”.
Random victim
At the same time, Everard’s family opens up about the grief after the tragic event. A statement described the 33-year-old as a “beautiful daughter and sister”.
– She was kind and caring, caring and reliable. She always put others in front of herself and had a wonderful sense of humor, the family says.
They also thank everyone for the overwhelming support they have received after the disappearance.
Investigators believe that Everard was a random victim, and that the perpetrator did not know her before. Couzens, who was employed in the elite unit for the protection of politicians and diplomats, is still in custody.
Police are still searching the area around the golf course. Photo: Paul Childs / REUTERS
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The police officer was arrested at his own home in Kent, not far from where police have found a body. Couzens was taken to hospital on Thursday for injuries sustained during the arrest, but Scotland Yard says he is now back in custody.
Creates debate
The case has set emotions in motion across Britain, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “shocked and very saddened” by the disappearance.
– We must work quickly to find all the answers behind this terrible crime, the Prime Minister demands.
The disappearance has started a discussion about women’s safety in the UK, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan acknowledges that the capital’s streets are not safe.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan acknowledges that London is not a safe place for women. Photo: Victoria Jones / AFP
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– It is very important that people of the same sex as me understand it, he says.
– If you are a woman or a girl, your experiences of this city, whether in the workplace or on the street, are very different from the experience of men and boys. It is very important that people in positions of power, like me, understand this and take the necessary steps to rectify it, says Mayor Khan.
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