Sarah Everard: Metropolitan Police officer charged with the kidnap and murder of
Officer Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday for his first hearing. He has been remanded in custody and will next appear in court at the Old Bailey in London on March 16, according to Met Police.
Everard disappeared on March 3 while walking in Clapham, south London, prompting an extensive police search in the area.
Her remains were eventually found more than 50 miles from where she was last seen. A post-mortem examination will now take place on Everard’s remains.
Couzens, a police officer whose “primary role was uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic premises,” was arrested in Kent on Tuesday. He was charged on Friday, according to a statement from Rosemary Ainslie, the CPS’ head of special crime.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, a police watchdog, said in a statement on Thursday that it had started an independent investigation into police actions involving the suspect.
Many also exchanged notes on the habitual precautions they take to try to stay safe when they walk alone — like clutching keys between their knuckles, pretending to talk to someone on the phone, or not wearing headphones at night — and voiced their anger and frustration that it feels like a necessary step.
Couzens joined the Met in September 2018, where he joined a response team covering the Bromley area, in southeast London. He then moved to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in February 2020, where his “primary role was on uniformed patrol duties of diplomatic premises, mainly a range of Embassies,” the Met statement said.
Nick Ephgrave, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said on Friday that he understood that “women in London and the wider public, particularly those in the area where Sarah went missing, will be worried and may well be feeling frightened,” and that Londoners could expect to see a rise in officers on the streets in the coming days.
“I know that the public feels hurt and angry about what has happened. And those are sentiments that I share personally, and I know my colleagues here at Scotland Yard and across the Met share as well,” Ephgrave said.
‘Reclaim the Streets’
A series of vigils had been planned on Saturday across the country, including in Clapham Common, a green space Everard walked near at around 9 p.m. local time, as she headed toward her home in Brixton.
The “Reclaim These Streets” events were canceled after London Police said the vigil couldn’t go ahead, citing coronavirus restrictions, the organizers said in a statement Saturday.
“We have been very disappointed that given the many opportunities to engage with organizers constructively, the Metropolitan Police have been unwilling to commit to anything. While we have had positive discussions with the Lambeth officers present, those from Scotland Yard would not engage…
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