A Metropolitan Police officer failed to catch Wayne Couzens for flashing female McDonald’s staff days before he murdered Sarah Everard, a watchdog has found.
Couzens has now admitted exposing himself at a drive-thru in Kent on 14 February and 27 February 2021, where workers were referred to him as “the penis guy” after repeat offences.
He had been caught on CCTV driving to the restaurant in his own car, which was registered in his name, and used his own credit card to purchase food.
The incidents were reported to the Metropolitan Police, but Couzens was not arrested and just three days later, he kidnapped, raped and murdered Ms Everard.
Another missed opportunity came in 2015, when Kent Police identified Couzens as a suspect for a flashing incident in Dover, but failed to discover that he was a police officer or interview him before closing the investigation.
Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said the handling of Couzens illustrated a wider failure to treat flashing seriously “as part of a dangerous pattern of risky sexual offending behaviour”.
“We’ve long known that the police aren’t taking so-called ‘lower level’ sexual violence offences like indecent exposure seriously enough,” she added.
“If Couzens had been properly investigated and held accountable for his prior offending against women, he would not have been able to abuse his position as a police officer in his crimes against Sarah Everard.
“These were not just ‘missed opportunities’ to stop a serial sex offender – they were decisions made by police forces to take no action against him and in doing so, to allow him to continue to target women.”
Ms Simon said that inaction can make offenders “think they can get away with it” and trigger an “escalation” in offending.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the Metropolitan Police constable who handled the 2021 case allegedly “breached police standards … for alleged failings over the way inquiries were progressed”.
“The constable is also accused of breaching the standards relating to honesty and integrity over parts of an account provided to IOPC investigators in respect of the alleged failings,” a statement added.
The watchdog said the constable “has a case to answer for gross misconduct” but although a hearing will take place, they resigned last year and can face no sanction.
The IOPC said it had looked at whether inquiries were properly carried out, and if the available CCTV, vehicle checks and other evidence was correctly dealt with.
The watchdog found that the investigating officer did not visit the McDonald’s until 3 March 2021 - the day after Couzens abducted Ms Everard.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that it received the report on 28 February 2021, but said the officer had not identified the suspect’s occupation by the time he committed murder.
“The officer has since resigned and left the organisation in 2022,” a Scotland Yard spokesperson added.
“Now that criminal proceedings have concluded, the Directorate of Professional Standards will seek to progress the hearing as soon as possible.”
A Kent Police officer will also face a misconduct hearing over their handling of separate flashing allegations against Couzens in 2015.
The force received a report that a man driving a car indecently exposed himself to a pedestrian in Dover in June that year but while the vehicle was identified as belonging to Couzens, Kent Police did not identify that he was a police officer and there was no arrest or interview.
“A sergeant has a case to answer for misconduct for alleged failures in following all reasonable lines of enquiry before the case was closed,” an IOPC spokesperson said.
“Kent Police will organise a misconduct meeting at which the officer will face allegations amounting to a breach of the police professional standards.”
On Monday, Couzens pleaded guilty to the three incidents of indecent exposure in November 2020 and February 2021.
A ruling made by Ms Justice May in November, following a failed “abuse of process” application attempting to dismiss the case by Couzens’ defence team, said that in the November 2020 incident he stepped out of woodland near Deal in Kent and exposed himself to a female cyclist.
Couzens was naked at the time and masturbating, leaving the woman “scared and shaken” as she cycled away “as fast as she was able”, the ruling said.
Two months later, Couzens targeted the McDonald’s, where Mrs Justice May said female staff working at the drive-thru window “reported a man in [a black Seat] with exposed genitals” who appeared sexually aroused.
“They reported that the man looked straight at them whilst sitting in the car, exposing himself to them in this way,” the ruling said. “The female staff were shaken, upset and angry.”
Prosecutors said that after one incident, female staff saw Couzens parked up outside the restaurant when taking out rubbish and “ran back to the building because they were scared”.
When he returned, one of the victims warned others “the penis guy is back”, documents said.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it would not proceed with other counts of alleged flashing by Couzens because it was not “in the public interest”, and he will be sentenced on 6 March.
Couzens’ pleas came as two to three Metropolitan Police officers appear in court a week charged with criminal offences, including alleged domestic abuse and sex crimes, and many more face disciplinary hearings.
He worked in the same unit as serial rapist David Carrick, who received multiple life sentences for years of horrific crimes against women last week.
Scotland Yard said the men worked in different parts of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command and there was “nothing to suggest they knew each other”.
