Twelve officers investigated by police watchdog over Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens

Twelve officers are currently being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over matters relating to the case of Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens (Photo: Metropolitan Police)Twelve officers are currently being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over matters relating to the case of Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens (Photo: Metropolitan Police)
Twelve officers are currently being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over matters relating to the case of Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens (Photo: Metropolitan Police)

Twelve officers are currently being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over matters relating to the case of Sarah Everard s killer Wayne Couzens.

This comes as Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer, pleaded guilty to the murder of Ms Everard on Friday (9 July).

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The police watchdog issued notices linked to several different ongoing investigations relating to the Couzens case.

The IOPC said: "We have served a total of 12 gross misconduct or misconduct notices on police officers from several forces as we continue to investigate matters linked to the conduct of PC Couzens."

One probe involves allegations that a Met Police constable, who was still on probation, shared an inappropriate graphic relating to the case with officers over social media before manning the cordon at the scene of the search for Ms Everard.

Several notices have also been served in relation to allegations that officers shared information linked to Couzens' prosecution.

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A probe into the Metropolitan Police's alleged failure to investigate allegations of indecent exposure linked to Couzens in February 2021 also continues, with two officers being investigated for possible breaches of professional standards.

A separate investigation is also ongoing into claims that Kent Police failed to look into an incident of indecent exposure linked to Couzens as far back as 2015.

The IOPC also said a probe into how Couzens sustained head injuries on two separate occasions while in custody has almost concluded.

All officers involved are being treated as witnesses and the serving of misconduct notices does not necessarily mean that disciplinary proceedings will follow, the IOPC said.

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