On Friday, 12 March, the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards was made of aware of an inappropriate graphic that was allegedly shared via social media by a probationary MPS police constable with some colleagues. The sharing of the graphic was reported by a number of these officers who were concerned by its content.
Given the context of the officer’s duties at the time, a voluntary referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to this matter. The PC had been deployed as a cordon officer supporting the search operation in Kent in relation to the murder of Sarah Everard. The officer has been removed from these duties and placed in a non-public facing role while enquiries continue.
The graphic does not contain photographic images, no images of Sarah, nor any other material obtained from or related to the investigation into Sarah’s murder.
Sarah’s family have been made aware of the incident.
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave, said: “The MPS expects its officers to behave professionally at all times and this includes how they use social media. I take allegations that any officer or officers have failed to observe these standards very seriously and have referred this matter to the IOPC.”
More news from United Kingdom
