A serving police officer and a ex-constable have been found guilty of sending grossly offensive misogynistic and racist messages in a WhatsApp group with Sarah Everard’s killer.
Metropolitan police officer Jonathon Cobban, 35, and former cop Joel Borders, 45, were convicted on Wednesday of sending grossly offensive messages in a chat called 'Bottle and Stoppers', which included Wayne Couzens, 49.
Another serving Met Police officer, William Neville, was also in the What's App group. The 34-year-old was cleared of sending a grossly offensive message following a trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court in July.
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Cobban has been found guilty of three charges and cleared on two counts relating to exchanges he had with Neville. Borders was convicted of all five charges against him.
Borders and Cobban swapped what they claimed was "banter" about tasering children and people with disabilities, and referred to Hounslow as a "Somali shithole" in comments made in the group in 2019.
In an exchange on April 5 that year, 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 pissed off and the dog will shit. 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.
On April 25, 2019, Borders joked about raping a female colleague, who he referred to as a "sneaky bitch", language which Judge Sarah Turnock said was "misogynistic and aggressive in its nature and is a clear example of victim blaming".
Delivering a verdict at City of London Magistrates’ Court, the judge branded the comments "abhorrent" and said Borders "demonstrates an ableist attitude by then adding a disabled person to Cobban’s disgusting list of victims". She said: "I can honestly say that I consider it to be sickening to think of a police officer joking about using firearms and tasers in this way."
During their trial, each defendant dismissed many of the comments they had made as examples of "dark humour". But Judge Turnock 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 added: "The WhatsApp group in which these messages were posted appears therefore to have been viewed by the defendants as a safe space, involving a small number of like-minded individuals, in which they had free reign to share controversial and deeply offensive messages without fear of retribution."
Borders kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling as the judgment was delivered on Wednesday and Cobban remained expressionless. Neville smiled as he was cleared of both counts against him and allowed to leave the dock.
Cobban and Borders will be sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on November 2.
Independent Office for Police Conduct regional director Sal Naseem described the comments "inexcusable" and "particularly disturbing" in light of their profession. He said: "Social media cannot be a hiding place for these types of views.
"Behaviour of this nature seriously undermines public confidence in policing. It is part of our role, and for police forces themselves, to ensure that it is rooted out and those responsible are held to account for their actions."
The watchdog added that it will be for the force to progress disciplinary matters now the criminal case has ended. The Met apologised for the pair’s behaviour and promised to progress internal misconduct proceedings "without delay".
Couzens murdered Ms Everard, 33, while serving as a Metropolitan police officer. He kidnapped the former Durham University student, under the guise of an arrest, while she was walking home in south London on March 3 last year. Her body was found a week later in a wood in Kent. Couzens was sentenced to a whole-life prison term for her kidnap, rape and murder.
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