Two London police officers have been suspended from duty ahead of an appearance in court after being charged with sending “grossly offensive” messages via WhatsApp between April and August 2019, England’s Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced on Thursday.
The pair were charged alongside a third individual, who is a former cop, after an investigation into the phone records of former Met officer Wayne Couzens following his conviction last year for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard.
“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,” Rosemary Ainslie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said.
Beyond describing the messages as “grossly offensive,” the CPS did not provide any further information about the nature of the relevant communications.
Responding to the move, the Met Police said in a statement that it was “aware of charges brought against two serving Metropolitan Police officers and one former officer about sending grossly offensive messages on a public communications network.”
“They are suspended from duty,” it added.
The trio are to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on March 16.
The charges are the latest development in a lengthening series of scandals concerning the Metropolitan Police, which led to the recent resignation of Commissioner Cressida Dick after she lost the confidence of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Couzens was sentenced to life in prison in September 2021 over the kidnap, rape, and murder of Everard, whom he abducted by falsely arresting her while he was still a serving Met officer. Months later, two more former Met officers were imprisoned for taking and distributing photos of two murdered sisters. The pair had been tasked with guarding the crime scene.
Earlier this year, a damning report by the IOPC on the actions of officers at Charing Cross police station accused them of “disgraceful” behavior, finding a culture of racism, sexism, and homophobia.