Date: 2024-04-29 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00021042
Police
UK Police Misconduct
Not Only Was Wayne Couzens a Police Officer, He Represents Them Too ... It is precisely because of his profession that Sarah Everard was arrested and handcuffed by Couzens
Photo by King’s Church International on Unsplash
Original article: https://aninjusticemag.com/not-only-was-wayne-couzens-a-police-officer-he-represents-them-too-fbd6d92b6de5
Burgess COMMENTARY
Peter Burgess
September 30th, 2021 · Details on the case The UK is reeling.
Met Police officer Wayne Couzens was sentenced to a whole life term in prison for the murder of Sarah Everard. Now that sentencing has been done, distressing facts from the case have since emerged.
The attack was planned, with Couzens spending around a month travelling to London from Deal, Kent to research how to coerce an unsuspecting victim into his custody, before carrying out the violent sexual assault.
Using knowledge gained from working Covid patrols, he used his Metropolitan Police-issue warrant card to arrest Sarah for breaching COVID lockdown regulations. Handcuffed, and in his hire car, he drove them both to Dover in Kent, where they moved into his personal car before travelling to a remote rural area nearby.
Here he raped her before strangled her to death with his police belt. The following day he burnt her body and dumped her remains in a pond near the area of woodland he owned. The very same area he would take his wife and two children to on a family trip a couple of days following the murder.
Police reaction
Following his sentencing, former Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding told Sky News that the police do not view Wayne Couzens as a police officer, but rather a murderer that should not have been allowed near the uniform. His exact words:
Police officers do not view Wayne Couzens as a police officer… They view him as a murderer who happened to be a police officer, rather than the other way around: a police officer who is a murderer… And that’s a really important thing… He doesn’t hold the same values as a police officer, he doesn’t have the same personality as we do… He’s a very sick, dangerous individual who should never have been near a uniform.Now, whilst I do understand that most of this speech is grounded in emotion, I do think what he has said is utter bullshit.
Though Couzens has since been fired by the Met, it does not change the fact that when this arrest was made, he was actively working on the force. So Harding denouncing him as an officer is insulting. Furthermore, though he was off-duty, in the UK an officer is allowed to exercise most of their powers at any time. Had he driven to the station and processed Sarah Everard, she very well would have been charged. Therefore, in this instance, whilst the arrest was dubious at best, it was still legal by law — which is the issue.
Furthermore, whilst he can claim that the entire police force does not see him as a police officer, that was his job. Not to mention, before working as an officer, he had been nicknamed “the rapist” by colleagues as he made women feel uncomfortable. A nickname that was known to the Met. Even with this, he was still hired and accepted for the role.
We know, in this profession there is a culture of colleague protection, and yet Harding claims that Couzens doesn’t hold the same values as the rest of them? I do not believe for a second that there were no signs, particularly as three days prior to the attack he was reported twice for flashing people.
General reaction
Since the sentencing and the release of evidence, I have noticed news-outlets, as well as people, label the arrest as false. As you are reading my work, I am sure I don’t need to explain to you how the police tend to make arrests whether you are guilty or not. Therefore, whilst he had no technical grounds to arrest Sarah, I believe those who have continued to state that the arrest was false, are not being accurate. After all, people get prosecuted and sent to jail for “false arrests”, and I am sure if you spoke to these people they would echo how very real they are.
Furthermore, Sarah did break COVID-19 lockdown rules. This isn’t to say I believe this was her fault, no. But rather, she was chosen specifically for that reason by Couzens and this is why both she and the bystanders watching did not intervene or fight the arrest. As highlighted above, this was a part of his plan.
Why is this relevant
I am not rehashing the details of this case to win some intellectual battle. Though I understand that this situation has caused a lot of panic and concern, I do believe that for real progress to be had, we must look at the reality of the situation.
The George Floyd protests brought police brutality to mainstream attention, however in the UK there was still an essence of separation, i.e. this is something that happens over there, not here. If an “independent” report commissioned by the UK government can state that Britain is not a racist country, it is very easy to see how police brutality can also be swept under the rug. It is because of this why in 2021 a political correspondent can say with their chest that they “can’t believe” female police officers are reluctant to report their male colleagues out of fear and violence.
Even though 2,563 people across England and Wales have died during or after contact with police between 2004 and 2019, some will still claim that we do not have a problem. It is because of this Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding feels able to claim that Couzens is not a police officer when that is exactly what he was.
Rather than separate Couzens from his profession, I believe a lot more headway would be made if we saw him for exactly what he was. He is not the first or last police officer to abuse their powers, he is just the most prominent to get caught. Therefore, something has to change — specifically the powers we award the police, particularly during nationwide events like the pandemic.
Instead of transforming Wayne into a monster, we need to see him for what he is. It is also vital we accept that across the West, our current institution of policing is not working. This is not a case study, but rather a warning sign. If he is not representative of the force, how and why did he pass his background checks? Why was he able to find employment so easily after being nicknamed “the rapist”?
As Grace Blakeley stated in a tweet:
Violence doesn’t just happen — it’s committed by people — in this case, as in so many others, a police officer. The only way to get ‘systemic change’ is to change policing, which produces too many men who abuse their power because (they) believe themselves to be above the law.Conclusion
Following this, I have seen people do their best to provide facts for harm reduction. Such as how if you are stopped by a police officer and asked questions, you have a legal right to refuse to answer and walk away. Though I can appreciate the sentiment, the information above can clearly provide the reason why I do not feel this is effective at all.
Refusal is not enough to guarantee our safety, only a complete overhaul of the policing institution will. Denying his profession will also not be the key to justice, especially as this was the key to his crime.
If we actually care about the wellbeing of us all, particularly women, we must be completely honest with ourselves, others and the facts surrounding this case. To treat it as a once-off would be a great mistake.