The Independent Office for Police Conduct has now completed assessments into four further matters linked to the tragic death of Sarah Everard, which have been referred to us by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), and can confirm we will now commence two separate independent investigations.
We will investigate how an officer sustained serious injuries whilst in police custody on suspicion of Ms Everard’s murder. Our investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding how the officer sustained a head injury on the afternoon of Wednesday 10 March and sustained a further head injury on the morning of Friday 12 March.
Following a voluntary referral received on the evening of Friday 12 March we can also confirm we will be investigating the conduct of a probationary police constable who was on duty at a cordon supporting the search operation for Ms Everard. It is alleged they shared an inappropriate graphic with colleagues via social media on Thursday 11 March. Having seen the graphic we can confirm it does not contain photographic images or any other material obtained from or related to the investigation into Ms Everard’s death, or images of her.
Following a mandatory referral on Thursday 11 March about the actions of police after they received a report that Ms Everard was missing, we looked at the timeline of police contact, the actions taken by police during the missing person investigation and are returning the matter to the MPS to be handled in a reasonable and proportionate manner.
In relation to a statement from the Mayor of London calling for the IOPC to investigate the police response to a vigil for Ms Everard held in south London on Saturday evening, this type of investigation is not within our remit as no conduct issues have yet been identified. We have discussed this further with Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service (HMICFRS) to consider how concerns might be included in work being undertaken by HMICFRS. If HMICFRS find concerns about the conduct of individuals or further complaints, they will feed them to us to consider investigating. |
