Two Metropolitan Police officers have been jailed over racist, misogynist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic and ableist messages shared in a WhatsApp group containing Wayne Couzens.
Prosecutor Edward Brown KC told Westminster Magistrates’ Court the group included “grossly racist, sexist, misogynistic” messages, as well as those discussing rape, domestic abuse and violence against women.
The posts were discovered in a WhatsApp group called “Bottle and Stoppers/Atkin’s Puppets” after Couzens was arrested for kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah Everard in March 2021.
Serving PC Jonathon Cobban, 35, and former officer Joel Borders, 45, had denied charges of sending grossly offensive messages before being found guilty.
Two officers on trial talked about “struggle snuggles” after one described pinning a 15-year-old girl to the floor during an incident, and one suggested he would “rape and beat” a named female police officer.
While giving evidence in their defence, the men argued that the messages had been “banter”, jokes or misinterpreted by the prosecution.
In one exchange, Borders wrote of a female police officer: “She will use me as an example. Lead me on then get me locked up when I rape and beat her! Sneaky b****.”
Other posts saw chat participants joking about police performing sex acts on domestic violence victims, with Cobban writing in June 2019: “That's alright, DV victims love it ... that's why they are repeat victims more often than not.”
Borders replied: “No, they just don’t listen!” Responding to a colleague’s account of responding to domestic violence incidents days later, Borders wrote: “Bet they all had one thing in common. Women that don’t listen.”
During the same exchange, Cobban described racially diverse areas of London as a “s***hole”, described a member of the public who asked him for directions as “yellow” and remarked: “Not even the shops are in English.”
Borders wrote that he “felt like a spot on a domino” in the London district of Feltham and described Hounslow as “twinned with Baghdad”.
In April 2019, Borders wrote that he could not wait to “shoot some c*** in the face” with a police firearm and Cobban replied: “Me too. I want to taser a cat and a dog to see which reacts better … same with children. Zap zap you little f***ers.”
Borders replied “and a couple of downys?”, in what prosecutors said was a reference to people with Down’s Syndrome.
In August 2019, Cobban described an incident where he had to look after a person who needed hospital treatment after self-harming as an “attention-seeking, self-harming f*g”.
Below is the full list of messages from the chat as revealed in court.
21 June 2019:
Unnamed participant: Mate they aren’t gonna ditch you with your skill sets, unless you [perform a sex act on] a DV [domestic violence] victim!
Unnamed participant: Oh, Jon in that case you’re probably f***ed.
Jonathan Cobban: That’s alright, DV victims love it ... that’s why they are repeat victims more often than not.
Joel Borders: No, they just don’t listen!
29 June 2019:
Jonathan Cobban: Got a bus through [the West London district of] Hounslow ... what a f***ing Somali s***hole. Great. There goes p***y patrol ... more like FGM [female genital mutilation] patrol.
Joel Borders: [West London district] Feltham is worse! I went there the other week and I felt like a spot on a domino! [Followed by a series of emojis showing one white face among several depicting Asian and black people of different races and religions]
Unnamed participant: Filthy Feltham.
Jonathan Cobban: Walking through to Hounslow Central [Tube station], it was like walking along a Dulux colour code.
Jonathan Cobban: Not even the shops were in English.
Joel Borders: Yeah, all shades of brown!?
Jonathan Cobban: Yep and I think I was one yellow. But he was lost cos he asked me for directions
Joel Borders: Hounslow twinned with Baghdad
Joel Borders: You know when it’s getting near to the end of night shift in Hounslow because you can hear the call to prayer
9 August 2019
Joel Borders: Lucky b******! I bet I get paired up with the only gay on section!
Jonathan Cobban: Oh yeah I dealt with one of those, hospital guard for some attention seeking self-harming f*g
9 August 2019
Jonathan Cobban: That’s good mate. I’m hoping to get a fight or something to prove myself. This week mainly been doing arrest inquiries and s*** like that. Hospital guard.
William Neville: That’s s***. My first shift was third wheeling, then the rest I’ve been an operator, where my first call was an urgent assistant, pinned a 15-year-old girl going mental to the floor ... I knew all the struggle snuggles would come in useful at some point
Jonathan Cobban: Haha struggle snuggles are always useful ... good skills!
9 August 2019
William Neville: Yeah, I’m going to try and have a chat to the PaDP [Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection] guys at the American Embassy next week, they’re pretty good st [sic] coming out to talk to us, get an idea of what it’s really like
Jonathan Cobban: They on your patch?
William Neville: Yes mate, it’s right on the limit of my patch.
Jonathan Cobban: Ah quality. Our landmark’s London’s biggest mosque! [Emoji of man in turban and book]
William Neville: Haha! That’s useful if you need to execute a warrant, you’ll know where they are
Jonathan Cobban: Dependent on eod [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] availability [winky smiling face emoji]
William Neville: 400m cordon, saves you having to do an investigation
Jonathan Cobban: West area...would still be our job [crying with laughter emoji]
5 April 2019
Joel Borders: I can’t wait to get on guns so I can shoot some c*** in the face!
Jonathan Cobban: Me too. I want to taser a cat and a dog to see which reacts better. I think the cat will get more pissed off and the dog will s**it. I wanna test this theory. Same with children. Zap zap you little f***ers.
Joel Borders: And a couple of downys? [prosecution alleges a reference to people with Down’s Syndrome]
25 April 2019
Jonathan Cobban: At least you’ll have [named female police officer]. She’ll look after you lol [laugh out loud]
Joel Borders: She will use me as an example. Lead me on then get me locked up when I rape and beat her! Sneaky b***h.
