The Metropolitan police constable Wayne Couzens was the subject of a claim of indecent exposure against a woman six years before he murdered Sarah Everard, it has been revealed.
An allegation was reported to Kent police in 2015, who will now face an investigation into whether they investigated it properly.
Couzens admitted the murder of Everard at the Old Bailey, having at an earlier hearing admitted kidnapping her from a south London street on 3 March 2021, and then raping her.
The new allegation occurred while Couzens was an officer with the Civil Nuclear constabulary (CNC). That force has said nothing was reported to them suggesting any problem with his behaviour or conduct.
The new allegation will be the subject of an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. It said it was launching “an investigation into alleged Kent police failures to investigate an indecent exposure incident linked to PC Couzens in Kent in 2015”. No notices had been served against any officers, it added.
Couzens worked as an armed officer for CNC based at Dungeness, Kent, in 2015 and lived in Deal. He transferred to the Met in 2018.
The IOPC said it was also investigating allegations the Met may not have properly investigated claims against Couzens just days before he attacked Everard.
The IOPC said it was carrying out a separate “investigation into alleged MPS failures to investigate two allegations of indecent exposure linked to PC Couzens in London in February 2021. Two officers are being investigated for possible breaches of professional standards at misconduct level.”
Tom Richards, an assistant chief constable at Kent police, said: ‘Kent police made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to its investigation into an alleged indecent exposure in Dover in June 2015.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further whilst the IOPC continues to carry out its independent investigation.”
