London police battle loss of trust after officer kills woman

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Police in Britain’s capital are desperately trying to regain the trust of women after revelations about how a serving officer used his position to abduct, rape and murder a young woman, taking the unprecedented step of advising women and girls how to protect themselves during interactions with police. The Metropolitan Police Service issued the information Thursday night after evidence presented during the sentencing of Wayne Couzens showed that he used his police identification to stop 33-year-old Sarah Everard in south London, then handcuffed her, threw her in the back of a car and drove her to a remote location, where he raped and strangled her. Evidence that earlier offenses may have been overlooked further stoked outrage.