A few days after London police officer Wayne Couzens is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of young woman Sarah Everard, a colleague of his is charged with rape. In addition, David Carrick is accused of raping a woman he dated via the Tinder dating app.
46-year-old officer David Carrick was arrested last weekend and immediately suspended as an officer. He is accused of raping a woman he met through Tinder last September. The officer, who was off duty at the time, allegedly raped the woman after visiting two pubs with her. He is in pre-trial detention. His case is due in November. He denies the accusation.
The officer was part of the unit within London’s Metropolitan Police responsible for the security of Parliament and the diplomatic services. That unit also employed Wayne Couzens, the 48-year-old cop who was sentenced to life in prison just days ago for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard. The young woman was arrested by the officer under false pretences and then raped and murdered.
The Metropolitan Police is now again discredited after the murder of Everard had already caused a lot of commotion and a crisis of confidence. Police were accused of ignoring alarming signals about the convict. Thousands of women testified on social media about times they were threatened or attacked in public and called on politicians to act.
“I am deeply concerned to learn that a police officer from this unit is being charged with this serious crime,” Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick said. “I fully recognize that this must be a major concern for the public as well.”
“A huge effort will have to be made to restore women’s confidence in the police,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. According to Johnson, the streets must be made safer, including through security cameras and better lighting. But he also pledged to make efforts to change police culture.
