Wayne Couzens: PCs in WhatsApp group with Sarah Everard killer jailed

Joel Borders (left) and Jonathon Cobban have been jailed for sharing offensive messages in a WhatsApp group

A serving Met police constable and an ex-officer have been jailed for sharing "grossly racist, sexist, and misogynistic" messages with Sarah Everard's killer.

Jonathon Cobban, 35, and Joel Borders, 46, shared WhatsApp messages about women and disabled people in a group with Wayne Couzens.

The pair were jailed for 12 weeks and bailed pending an appeal.

Couzens murdered Ms Everard while a serving Met officer.

Serving officer Cobban and ex-PC Borders, who were members of a chat called "Bottle and Stoppers", were convicted on 21 September.

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard they joked about raping a female colleague, talked about Tasering children and people with disabilities, and displayed racist views in the group in 2019.

'Grossly offensive'

District Judge Sarah Turnock said she could not think of "more grossly offensive messages". She bailed the pair ahead of an appeal against their convictions at the High Court.

"They encapsulated the full range of prejudiced views, racism, misogyny, ableism and homophobia," the judge said.

She said the officers harmed public confidence in policing and that their messages would have caused "great distress" to victims who they had "sworn an oath to protect".

In the group chat, which included seven new Met Police officers, Cobban joked about sexually abusing domestic violence survivors who he said "love it… that's why they are repeat victims more often than not".

The officers described the messages as "banter" and dismissed many of the comments as examples of "dark humour".

The judge said Cobban and Borders had shown no "genuine remorse" but were "indignant" to find themselves before the court.

Cobban was found guilty of three counts of sending grossly offensive messages, while Borders was convicted of five charges.

Another officer, PC William Neville, 34, of Weybridge in Surrey, was cleared of sending grossly offensive messages following a trial in July.

Cdr Jon Savell, of the Met Police, said: "The behaviour of these officers is despicable. It is staggering that they regard this language as defensible.

"I am deeply sorry these officers have let down the public, and their Met colleagues.

"We are determined to rid this organisation of those who corrupt its integrity, and are increasing our efforts to do that more quickly.

"As a result, we may well see more cases emerging, as we leave no stone unturned in tackling offensive behaviour."

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