The massive police blunders that left Wayne Couzens free to kill: Colleagues nicknamed him ‘The Rapist’, he was obsessed with brutal porn and had flashed TWICE at a McDonald’s before he raped and murdered Sarah Everard

• Wayne Couzens, 48, was nicknamed The Rapist by colleagues in the police
• The killer cop also has an obsession with ‘brutal porn’, according to colleague
• Couzens was linked to an incident three days before Sarah Everard’s murder
• Met is being investigated by the IOPC for allegedly failing to probe incidents 

Metropolitan Police has faced questions today after Wayne Couzens was able to continue as a serving policeman despite colleagues nicknaming him The Rapist.

The killer cop, 48, was nicknamed The Rapist because of his inappropriate behaviour around women, had an obsession with ‘brutal porn’ and flashed McDonald’s workers before murdering Sarah Everard on March 3. 

Couzens has been linked to an incident three days before Miss Everard was kidnapped which saw two members of staff being flashed at a branch of McDonald’s in south London. 

The Met is being investigated by the IOPC for allegedly failing to probe these two separate incidents, despite apparently being provided with CCTV. Couzens was only identified as a suspect after Miss Everard’s murder. 

Questions have also been asked about how the Met Police’s vetting process failed to pick up concerns around Couzens before he was made an armed officer in its elite Diplomatic Protection Group, which involved him guarding embassies, VIPs and members of the Royal Family. 

A McDonald’s worker today claimed Couzens exposed himself to her three weeks before killing Miss Everard as she was working at a drive-thru on the A20 near Swanley in Kent at the start of February. 

Wayen Couzens (pictured), 48, was nicknamed The Rapist by colleagues and had an obsession with ‘brutal porn’ before committing the gruesome murder on March 3

Couzens used to work at his father’s garage in Dover before joining the Kent Special Constabulary at some point after 2002. 

The court heard a colleague in that year spoke of ‘his attraction to brutal sexual pornography’ but Jim Sturman QC, defending, said it related to a single incident ‘which is almost impossible to examine now’.

He was also allegedly nicknamed ‘The Rapist’ by colleagues in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary – where he was involved in protecting nuclear power stations – because of his inappropriate behaviour around women.

The court heard he used prostitutes and had a fake Match.com dating profile despite being married with two children and in 2018, it has been claimed he was reported to bosses for slapping a female police officer’s bottom at Bromley police station. It appears no action was taken, a source claimed.

While at Bromley, it is also alleged he became the subject of gossip for only stopping female motorists – before taking their details so he could watch their homes – and parking outside schools to leer at mothers and sixth formers. 

The Met said: ‘Couzens was a serving and vetted police officer when he joined the Met. He had no criminal convictions or cautions and he was not subject to any misconduct proceedings during his time at the MPS. We are aware of no other concerns raised by his colleagues or anyone regarding his behaviour.’ 

A McDonald’s worker told MailOnline she saw Couzens pulling up by the order hatch with his trousers down. Met Police has not commented on this claim and the worker did not suggest the Met knew Couzens had done this and allowed him to carry on working.

Couzens has been linked to an incident three days before Miss Everard was kidnapped which saw two members of staff being flashed at a branch of McDonald’s in south London (file image)

The staff member – who said she recognised Couzens from the news coverage after he was identified as Miss Everard’s killer, told MailOnline: ‘The whole has thing left me quite disturbed. He casually pulled up to the serving hatch having ordered his food and I could clearly see that he was naked from below the waist.

‘It was not the first time that he had done this when he came to McDonald’s, but I was the only female member of staff to report it. I’m glad I took a stand and alerted the authorities because it was the right thing do. But I never imagined that he would go on to murder a woman, it’s tragic.’ 

The devout Christian said she reported the alleged incident to police. MailOnline has contacted the Met for comment. 

The Met is already being investigated by the police watchdog for its alleged failure to investigate two flashings later attributed to Couzens at a McDonald’s in south London three days before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Miss Everard. 

The IOPC is also looking into Kent Police – where Couzens used to work as a volunteer – after it was accused of not investigating reports in 2015 that a man had been spotted driving down a road with no trousers on.  

Couzens used his police ID to carry out a fake Covid arrest, cuffed the 33-year-old in his car and then strangled her using his police belt. 

He appeared to shake in the dock as he was handed a full life term at the Old Bailey this morning – as activists with ‘Met Police: Blood on their hands’ banners protested outside. Lord Justice Fulford said he was a ‘warped’ and ‘self-pitying’ killer who used his position and knowledge of Covid-19 lockdown laws to carry out one of the most shocking crimes in recent history. 

The McDonald’s worker allegedly targeted by Couzens in February said of the incident: ‘I believe that the police took action when I reported the matter at the time but I suppose the question is if it was appropriate enough?’ she asked.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Lord Justice Fulford sentencing Couzens at the Old Bailey in London

Sarah Everard’s disappearance sparked a huge manhunt and led to an outpouring of anger about the safety of women on the streets 

‘A process was underway, they were looking into it but perhaps they could have done more. I never thought it would escalate in the way that it did, and I don’t think the police did either.

‘I have not spoken about the incident at great length because I don’t want to take anything away from Sarah’s killing. At the end of the day the focus should be on her and her family and other women who have been killed by men.

‘I’m a devout Christian and people in my church have supported me. The whole thing was very disturbing. I no longer work at McDonald’s, I’m in a new job and have put the whole thing behind me. It is a closed chapter in my life and I’ve moved on.’

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