Chelsea footballer Sam Kerr alleges racial bias by police during a January 2023 incident involving a taxi driver. She claims the driver held her and her partner hostage and that police treated her differently due to her race. Kerr is on trial for racially aggravated harassment against an officer.
Chelsea women's footballer Sam Kerr has alleged that police treated her differently 'because of the colour of my skin' during an incident where she claims a taxi driver took her and her husband “hostage”. The Australia international is currently on trial facing charges of causing racially aggravated harassment to a police officer in south-west London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
Kerr, 31, and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had reportedly been out drinking when they were driven to Twickenham Police Station by a taxi driver. The driver allegedly complained that they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, while one of them also smashed up the vehicle's back window. Kerr allegedly became 'abusive and insulting' towards the officer - Pc Lovell - calling him 'stupid and white'. She told police 'this is a racial f****** thing', a jury at Kingston Crown Court heard on Wednesday.When questioned about these comments, Kerr said: 'I believed were treating me differently because of what they perceived to be the colour of my skin - particularly Pc Lovell's behaviour.' She cited his accusatory tone regarding her account and his subsequent arrest of her for criminal damage, despite her partner Kristie Mewis claiming responsibility for the broken window. Kerr stated, 'At the time, I thought they were trying to put it on me.' Regarding her comments towards Pc Lovell, Kerr responded: 'I had had a couple of drinks, mixed with tiredness, being in a scared and distressed state and (being) scared for my life 15 or 20 minutes before.' She admitted to regretting the way she expressed herself but maintained that the 'message was still relevant'. Kerr claimed she believed the driver was 'kidnapping' her and her partner, holding them 'hostage'.She made reference to Sarah Everard while at the police station, who was murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021, by telling officers about a 'girl in Clapham' who 'got raped and killed'. Pc Lovell allegedly responded, 'Do you think a a taxi driver, who is going to rape and kill you, would take you to a police station?' to which Kerr replied 'you're sick'. Kerr asserted that she perceived this as downplaying their experience and a deliberately antagonistic comment. She was also questioned about another comment in which she called the officer 'literally a white privileged person'. Kerr explained, 'It was clear to me that he had no idea about the power and privilege he had in that moment or in life ... he's never had to think about what could happen to you as a female.' In bodycam footage shown to jurors previously, Kerr can be heard telling Pc Samuel Limb that she and Ms Mewis were 'very scared' and 'trying to escape' the cab when they damaged the vehicle. During her testimony, Kerr described putting her head out of the window when she felt sick, only for the driver to roll it up and begin 'driving dangerously'. She claimed she was 'terrified for my life' during this dangerous driving, which she estimated lasted 15 to 20 minutes. 'Everything was going through my mind about being in a car with a stranger I deemed to be dangerous,” she said. Kerr remarked how her partner was terrified, and she reacted in a 'protective mode' after realizing the driver 'had the power over us'. 'We were not in control ... I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving but also because he could have taken us anywhere.” The pair repeatedly tried to open the doors and windows but they remained locked until Ms Mewis eventually 'kicked out (the window) with her boot'
Sam Kerr Chelsea Police Racism Taxi Driver Trial Discrimination Racial Bias London
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