Two Metropolitan Police colleagues of Wayne Couzens have been sentenced to jail terms over an offensive WhatsApp group.
The officers were sentenced to three months' imprisonment after sharing racist, homophobic, misogynistic and ableist messages in a WhatsApp group with Couzens before he murdered Ms Everard - but have been bailed ahead of an appeal.
Pc Jonathon Cobban, 35, and former Pc Joel Borders, 46, were members of a chat called "Bottle and Stoppers" on the encrypted platform with Couzens, 49.
Westminster Magistrates' Court heard how they joked about raping a female colleague, talked about tasering children and people with disabilities, and displayed racist views in the group in 2019.
The messages were discovered after Couzens, then a serving Met officer, kidnapped, raped and strangled 33-year-old marketing executive Ms Everard in March last year.
Cobban was found guilty of three counts of sending grossly offensive messages on a public communications network, while Borders was convicted of five charges after a Westminster Magistrates' Court trial.
District Judge Sarah Turnock jailed Cobban and Borders for 12 weeks on Wednesday, saying she could not think of "more grossly offensive messages", but 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.
"There was no intention on the part of the defendants to cause any harm to the persons to whom these messages relate or the minor groups of society who are undoubtedly affected by these messages," she continued.
"The persons to whom these messages relate will undoubtedly have been caused great distress by knowing police officers find it funny to joke about them in such a deeply offensive manner."
The judge said the messages "represent jokes specifically targeted or about people or groups as police officers "they had sworn an oath to protect".
"Significant harm has undoubtedly been caused to public confidence in policing as a result of these offences."
Nicholas Yeo, defending, said that along with losing their jobs, Borders and Cobban would be victims of "cancel culture" because their names have "become toxic".
"If they had committed robbery or GBH they would find it easier to find a job than being linked to the furore of Mr Couzens," he said.
"They were in no better position than anyone else to know what he would go on and do."
Mr Yeo told the court: "He [Borders] deeply regrets that innocent people have been affected by what he said and he has done damage to the force and everyone's job is made harder.
"Cobban accepted the messages were unacceptable, particularly because he is a police officer... he wanted to be eaten alive when he read them [the messages], they made him feel sick, utterly ashamed and embarrassed."
Both men will never be able to work as officers again, the court heard.
Jokes about domestic abuse survivors
In the group chat, which had seven new Met Police officers as members, including Couzens, 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 judge said she could not "think of a worse comment for a police officer to say" and also criticised Cobban for calling a victim of self-harming a derogatory term for a homosexual.
In an exchange on April 5 2019, Borders wrote: "I can't wait to get on guns so I can shoot some c--- in the face!"
Cobban responded: "Me too. I want to taser a cat and a dog to see which reacts better. I think the cat will get more p---ed off and the dog will s---. I wanna test this theory.
"Same with children. Zap zap you little f-----."
Borders replied suggesting adding "downys", a term the prosecution said referred to people with Down's syndrome, to the list.
In their chat, Feltham, in west London, was referred to as "filthy" and Hounslow, also in West London, as a "Somali s---hole".
On April 25 2019, Borders joked about a female colleague, who he referred to as a "sneaky b----", "lead(ing) him on" and "get(ting)" him jailed for raping and beating her.
Defendants said messages just 'banter'
The officers described the messages as "banter" and dismissed many of the comments as examples of "dark humour".
But the judge rejected this account, finding that at the very least the extensive police training they had each received meant they would have been aware of the public reaction to their messages.
She said Cobban and Borders had shown no "genuine remorse" but were "indignant" to find themselves before the court and felt they were being "scapegoated".
"This humour was covert and done in a covert way, to exchange banter in a safe space and they felt like they had free rein to share their views without fear of retribution," she said.
"It is precisely the covert nature of these comments which makes the prejudice so difficult to address within the police force.
"It is the contrast between the exemplary conduct of these defendants and the covert views expressed in these messages which causes me such concern."
Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: "The messages exchanged between these officers were disturbing and sickening, and it is unfathomable that those tasked with upholding the law could think it right to share this grossly offensive material.
"The court agreed that the messages amounted to criminal offences, and it is only right that Cobban and Borders are punished for their abhorrent actions.
"Let me be clear, where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to do so, the CPS will always prosecute these offences robustly."
