Former Officers Lose Appeal Over Offensive Messages

Two former police officers have failed in their appeal to overturn convictions related to sharing "grossly offensive" messages in a group chat that included Wayne Couzens. The messages, which were revealed during a court hearing in November 2022, included jokes about raping a female colleague, tasering children and individuals with disabilities, and expressed racist sentiments. One particularly alarming message from Borders stated, "I can't wait to get on guns so I can shoot some c*** in the face!" During a recent High Court hearing, the lawyers for the two men argued that their convictions should be overturned, claiming that the messages were private and consensual. However, Baroness Carr, summarizing the court's decision, emphasized that the officers had "no reasonable expectation of privacy" regarding their communications, which were deemed to have caused significant harm to public confidence in the police. Following the ruling, the senior judge in England and Wales indicated that the former officers would have 28 days to consider whether to appeal to the Supreme Court. If they choose not to pursue this option, they must return to Westminster Magistrates' Court within ten days. The case has raised important questions about the boundaries of private messaging and the responsibilities of police officers in maintaining public trust. The defense argued that the law should not apply to private messages shared among consenting individuals, but the court maintained that the nature of the messages warranted scrutiny under public standards of propriety in electronic communications.