He DID use the Covid laws to carry out a bogus arrest on Sarah Everard.

[MercyBooth]

twitter.com/kirkkorner/status/1443151964691484674?s=20

Tristan Kirk
@kirkkorner
·
4h
The Met Police officer who kidnapped and murdered Sarah Everard used Covid-19 laws to carry out a bogus arrest of the 33yo, the Old Bailey has heard.

He was carrying an array of police equipment and posing as an undercover cop when he handcuffed and captured her.

@BogRollBOGOF Completely agree.

@hepatocyte

I don't think it's ok to politicise her murder as ammo for anti-lockdown threads.

What happened to Sarah was hideous, the worst thing anyone could imagine, and the POS who did this would have found a way to use his police status to commit these crimes whatever the situation, pandemic or no pandemic.

May she rest in peace and her family be brought some comfort now the trial is almost over.

Well said!

"He DID use the Covid laws to carry out a bogus arrest on Sarah Everard"

No he didn't.

He abused them, as part of his terrible crime

And if it hadn't been that law he abused, it would have been a different one. Because he is a self-confessed murderer what went out that night to kidnap, rape and kill.

If there are future Covid restrictions, it needs to be exceptionally clear what the criteria for any kind of enforcement would be, and how that enforcement is permitted to be carried out. Sorry, but I'll stand by that! Yes, this man was clearly out of control and wicked and given his role, someone should have picked up on his potential to do harm. And likely he would have killed or tried to kill at some point. But this weird situation and opaque rules made it easier.

I don’t think it’s ok to use her murder as anti-lockdown ammo.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to draw parallels between the heavy-handed way that some police forces interpreted lockdown legislation (drones following dog walkers, people being fined for being too far from home, or for using their front garden, supermarket bags being searched for contrabrand Easter Eggs etc), and how that made it possible for WC to convince multiple people (Sarah and the witnesses who saw him arresting her) that it was completely legit to arrest somebody for walking home alone at night under Covid rules.

@Changechangychange

I don’t think it’s ok to use her murder as anti-lockdown ammo.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to draw parallels between the heavy-handed way that some police forces interpreted lockdown legislation (drones following dog walkers, people being fined for being too far from home, or for using their front garden, supermarket bags being searched for contrabrand Easter Eggs etc), and how that made it possible for WC to convince multiple people (Sarah and the witnesses who saw him arresting her) that it was completely legit to arrest somebody for walking home alone at night under Covid rules.

The witnesses had no idea what she was being arrested for. They just thought it was a legitimate arrest for something illegal.

Yes, but let's not forget that this was in an environment where "mingling" in an outdoor space was at one point or another illegal.

A barristers take on it.

twitter.com/AdamWagner1/status/1443160768539734018?s=20

He’s a sick motherfucker and would have found some way to find a victim and commit this crime, regardless of lockdown, Covid, or anything else. The problem is him. He would have used any opportunity as an excuse to trap a victim.

More than Covid/rules, the bigger problem is that the red flags were waving. Indecent exposure for eg. Plus I would say the chances of him having previously raped/abused someone are around 100%.

I disagree that this "using her as ammo."

It's relevant to have a discussion about the impact that lockdown laws have had on women's welfare and safety. This is a particularly horrible example, but there are many more. It's also relevant and important to talk about the fact that giving police officers a pretext for arresting people merely for being out on the street has huge risks and consequences.

It's relevant to talk about this, because we need to discuss the reasons why laws of this kind need to be an absolute last resort and withdrawn as soon as possible, NOT allowed to drag on endlessly in pursuit of zero COVID, and NOT permitted to become something that gets wheeled out year after year "to protect the NHS" every time the flu deaths get a bit above average or there are bed pressures or whatever.

If we can't talk about the risks and dangers of COVID restrictions, we put ourselves in a situation where it becomes hard to argue WHY we shouldn't be resorting to these measures at the drop of a hat "just to be on the safe side."

Absolutely chilling on all levels. I think a whole of life sentence would be totally appropriate.

The massive uptick in DV during lockdowns, and this awful case, and yet there are those who insist that lockdowns are good for women. Despicable, really.

And to those saying we should not use this as 'anti lockdown ammo' - I am absolutely, 100% not anti lockdown. But I absolutely, 100% believe that if there are to be lockdowns, vulnerable people (in this context a group which, maddeningly and tragically, includes many women) need to be protected from the abuses and dangers inherent. Better vetting for those charged with enforcing the rules, better access to and more investment women's DV services, greater penalties for those who use the isolation of lockdown to perpetrate their crimes.

I hope justice is served today, and I'm really not one who advocates severe sentencing as a rule. In this case, a whole life term seems to be the only one that's appropriate.

@middleager

Sorry, posting this on every thread as this is how my local police force respond. Women, police your behaviour.

This is fucking horrendous.

Lets tell girls everywhere that if a woman is harmed, she and her friends must have done the wrong thing in not protecting themselves from the male default behaviour - which is of course JUST ACCEPTED.

Great message.

Imagine them having posted a pic of a group of men telling them not to fucking ham women. Revolutionary thinking!
Well done West Midlands Police for exacerbating the issue and planting the responsibility firmly at the feet of the victim.

I’m probably going to get flamed for this but is is a genuine question.

How is telling a deranged murderer and rapist such as WC not to kill or rape different from telling an angry venomous snake not to bite people?

WC was 100% well aware that rape and murder are criminal. He knew what he was doing was wrong. How would telling him not to do it have helped?

That’s not to lay any blame with Sarah. It’s just to make the point that I don’t understand how telling people not to commit crimes actually helps. We all know we aren’t supposed to commit murder. Even primary school kids know that.

[quote MercyBooth]A barristers take on it.

twitter.com/AdamWagner1/status/1443160768539734018?s=20[/quote]
The same barrister's more considered take on it:

And it makes me think that all the idiots on here calling people 'murderers' for leaving their houses during lockdown are even more stupid. Makes a mockery of actual victims of murder.

@trollopolis

"He DID use the Covid laws to carry out a bogus arrest on Sarah Everard"

No he didn't.

He abused them, as part of his terrible crime

And if it hadn't been that law he abused, it would have been a different one. Because he is a self-confessed murderer what went out that night to kidnap, rape and kill.

Well said. A young woman died in awful circumstances. Politicising it for views on lockdown, (whether for or against) is wrong.

@beentoldcomputersaysno it’s really not politicising it. It’s trying to understand how implementing these laws so vaguely can have a direct impact on people (women in particular) by allowing the every day to become illegal. In normal law she wouldn’t have ‘accepted’ an arrest for walking down the street. No one (not the police or public) fully understood the perimeters of these laws because they were rushed and poorly drafted. We must make sure that if ever such extreme measures are taken again that they are clear and absolute to stop opportunities for abuse of them.
I’m not saying they are the reason he did this horrific thing but they set an environment that enabled him to arrest her for walking down the street.

*parameters

Don't be this man...inews.co.uk/news/uk/sarah-everard-murder-case-protest-covid-lockdown-laws-court-piers-corbyn-wayne-couzens-1225497

Equating women on here with Piers Corbyn. Women who are simply saying that the lockdown laws made it easier for WC to carry out his bogus arrest. Its an attempt at a silencing tactic and looks very sinister.

@MercyBooth exactly this. I have no axe to grind around lockdowns but we need to reflect on how these temporary laws impacted people and made some people more vulnerable because they were poorly drafted and misunderstood

@Moonopoly I agree. You"ve nailed it.

Piers Corbyn is a very strange man, and protesting outside the court was grossly insensitive. But this doesn't negate the fact that some of his points are rooted in valid concerns.
As PPs have said, if there is another lockdown (or further restrictions) at some point, the parameters of the law need to be made much clearer. Both to the public and to those who are responsible for enforcing them.

@MercyBooth

Equating women on here with Piers Corbyn. Women who are simply saying that the lockdown laws made it easier for WC to carry out his bogus arrest. Its an attempt at a silencing tactic and looks very sinister.

yeah, agreed.

I think the winter lockdown was probably the right thing to do, on balance, but I think we can say that and also say that giving police those sort of powers should be reserved only for very exceptional situations and removed as soon as it can be.

“He could have used any law!” - yeah but he didn’t, did he. There’s a reason for that.