Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PC from Couzens’ armed unit in court denial
A FIREARMS officer from the same department as killer PC Wayne Couzens allegedly raped a woman he met on dating website Tinder, a court heard.
PC David Carrick, 46, was remanded in custody yesterday charged with attacking the woman at a hotel after telling her he worked as a protection officer for the Prime Minister.
Magistrates were told she came forward after a whole life sentence was handed to Couzens last week for the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.
The report was made to police on Friday. Carrick was arrested on Saturday and charged the next day.
Carrick is based within the Met’s
Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, the armed unit stationed in Westminster. He is responsible for the protection of sensitive sites such as Downing Street and is a former colleague of Couzens. St Albans magistrates court in Hertfordshire heard the officer took the woman to a Premier Inn in the town where he was staying. Ryan Dowding, defending Carrick, said: “The two met on Tinder, a dating app, and arranged to go to a pub. Having consumed alcohol at the pub, and then going to another, more alcohol was consumed. Mr Carrick says no such sex occurred. He emphatically denies the allegations.”
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring, who appeared via video link at Westminster magistrates court, remanded the officer in custody. He said: “You will be remanded in custody until you appear at St Albans magistrates’ court on November 1.”
Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said on Sunday of the charge: “I am deeply concerned to hear the news. I fully recognise the public will be very concerned too.
“Criminal proceedings must now take their course so I am unable to comment any further at this stage.”
Couzens was given a whole-life tariff last week for killing Sarah, 33, after falsely arresting her as she walked home in South London.