The murder of Sarah Everard, a young woman kidnapped in the streets of London one evening in March 2021 and then murdered by a Scotland Yard policeman, Wayne Couzens, caused very strong emotion in the United Kingdom. He also lifted the veil on shocking failings within the “Met”, the Metropolitan Police (or Greater London Police): systemic racism and misogyny, abuse and even serial crimes…
But a new scandal has tarnished the already tarnished reputation of what was until recently considered one of the most prestigious police forces in the world.
Monday January 16, David Carrick, a 48-year-old police officer, confessed to dozens of additional crimes, after having already recognized twenty rapes in court in December 2022. A colleague of Wayne Couzens, he was like him assigned to the elite corps protecting the Westminster Parliament, ministers and diplomats.
This “serial rapist” has gone completely under the radar of Scotland Yard (but also of the police in Hertfordshire, Hampshire and the Thames Valley), notably retaining his possession of a weapon despite nine internal reports between 2000 and 2021, including eight concerning domestic violence, harassment or attempted rape. He was only arrested at the end of 2021 and formally fired from the “Met Police” on Tuesday January 17…
Loss of trustworthy
It took one of his victims daring to confide in the police, shortly after the arrest of Sarah Everard’s murderer, for Mr. Carrick to finally be arrested. A dozen other women later also accused him – all of whom are protected by anonymity.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman praised their courage. She also announced that the independent investigation entrusted by the Home Office in 2022 to Lady Elish Angiolini, a prominent lawyer, to understand how the murderer of Sarah Everard had been able to evolve within the “Met” without being arrested, would be extended to the “Carrick” case.
Brought before the courts, the testimonies of the policeman’s victims are terrible and draw the portrait of a brutal man, trying to exercise physical and moral control over the women he called his “slaves” or his “prostitutes”. He would contact them on dating apps, befriend them, and then his behavior would change. He multiplied the violence, degrading acts, attempted rape, taking advantage of his police status to silence his companions.
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