A former police officer who shared allegedly ‘grossly offensive’ messages in a WhatsApp group that included Wayne Couzens has told a court that his training did not take diversity into account and did not inform him of the offensive words.
“It seems almost every week there is an offensive word. How are you supposed to know what’s offensive? said Joel Borders, who had joked with other officers about raping and beating a co-worker and using Tasers on people with Down syndrome, whom he called “downys”.
“There’s nothing in training that gives you a specific word that’s offensive.”
Borders, who said he was described as ‘exemplary’ when he served in the Civil Nuclear Gendarmerie (CNC) before transferring to the Metropolitan Police, said he was unaware the term ‘downys’ was offensive .
PC Jonathon Cobban, 35, PC William Neville, 33, and Borders, 45, a former officer who said he now works as a close protection officer, are on trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court where they deny the charges against them.
The three are accused of sharing racist and misogynistic messages between April 5 and August 9, 2019 in a WhatsApp group with other officers. The posts were discovered after band member Couzens was arrested for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021.
Giving evidence on Friday, Borders became increasingly irritated when questioned by the Crown Prosecution Service lawyer about one of his comments about the band, when he said: “I can’t wait to get on on guns so you can shoot a pussy in the face!”
He compared it to when a teacher friend might joke about wanting to “strangle” a student, saying what he said was “clearly a joke”.
“I don’t even know why it’s here. I don’t know why you are asking the question. It’s ridiculous,” he said.
Borders also claimed that when he posted another comment referencing a co-worker, he didn’t think she or others would be offended when he said, “She’s going to use me as an example. Drive me and lock me up when I rape and beat her! Sneaky bitch.
When asked, he added: “I regret being in the group because of this, because of all the harm it has caused. It’s gotten out of control. You’re trying to criminalize innocent police officers.
“You’ve got two really good cops in there and they’re probably going to lose their jobs just because you take issue with some jokes,” he said.
WhatsApp group recordings also showed Cobban calling the London Borough of Hounslow “a fucking Somali shithole”, to which Borders replied: “Feltham is worse! I went the other week and felt like a stain on a domino!”
Lawsuit previously heard of a post in which Neville told fellow band members about a recent change when he pinned a 15-year-old girl, calling it a “wrestling hug.” Prosecutors alleged it was a staged rape fantasy.
During the same exchange in August 2019, Cobban added that such an approach was “always useful” and that it was “good skills” for a police officer, the court heard.
The trial continues.
theguardian Gt