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The London Metropolitan Police have come under fire for the violent way in which some officers disrupted a peaceful vigil in memory of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman who was abducted and killed on 3 March on her way home. On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered on Clapham Common, near where Everard was last seen, to demand more safety for the women. After a few hours, when the participants in the vigil were many more, the agents intervened to disperse the crowd, pushing and throwing several women to the ground: this caused large protests, not only because the demonstration was peaceful, but above all because it was directed precisely against violence against women.
Everard had disappeared on the night of March 3 at around 9:30 p.m., on his way home after visiting friends. A few days after the investigation into her disappearance began, a metropolitan police officer was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering her in Kent, south-eastern England; on March 10, also in Kent, his body was found, identified two days later.
Everard’s story caught the attention of hundreds of women and activists who denounced the problem of insecurity on the streets of English cities and on Saturday organized vigils both in London and in other cities, such as Brighton and Nottingham. The largest gathering was in Clapham Common Park, South London, where hundreds of women and activists began to gather in the afternoon to lay flowers and demonstrate peacefully. Things got worse at night, when a few thousand people participated in the vigil and the police intervened violently to remove them.
The officers pulled and pushed some women, sparking protests from the protesters. In another video, two police officers are seen getting up from the ground and pushing a woman who said she lost her glasses. One of the most controversial moments was the arrest of Patsy Stevenson, a 28-year-old girl who was thrown to the ground and handcuffed.
We dislike police violence against women who hold a peaceful vigil. The need to address # COVID-19 it should not be misused as an excuse for this behavior. This has happened just as the government is proposing new laws restricting peaceful protest. #ReclaimTheseStreets #PatsyStevenson pic.twitter.com/UFaosnJa6I
– Peace Promise Union (@PPUtoday) March 14, 2021
In all, four women were arrested and many more were fined. Home Secretary Priti Patel requested a detailed report from the London Metropolitan Police, defining some of the images on Saturday. “shocking».
After the vigil ended late in the evening, a senior metropolitan police officer, Helen Ball, issued a statement saying the officers faced a “very difficult decision.” Ball said that with the gathering of so many people there was “a very real risk of transmission of COVID-19” and added that “the police must act for the safety of the people”, and this was “the only thing responsible. To do.”
On Sunday, statements by London Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, who defended the officers’ behavior, also sparked much discussion. Dick said that “no one would have wanted to see the scenes we saw yesterday”; He explained that the vigil was initially peaceful and calm, but that later the agents had considered “quite legitimately” to disperse the “illegal” meeting, because it would have been a potential danger to people’s health.
According to the movement “Take back these streets”(We reclaim these roads), born in solidarity with Everard, it was instead the police who put the protesters at risk of contagion: with jerks, shoves and agitation. Durham University Law Professor Jolyon Maugham he further argued that Dick’s statements are “contradictory”: because he speaks of an “illegal” demonstration that initially “did not violate the rules”, but above all because it “eludes the responsibilities of the metropolitan police”; the demonstration was not properly organized because the police refused to cooperate with Reclaim These Streets.
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Despite much criticism of the agents’ behavior, Dick said he has no plans to resign. On Sunday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan met with her and her deputy, Stephen House, to inquire about the incident. Khan said the attitude of the officers at the vigil was “completely unacceptable” and added that he was not satisfied with the explanations given by the metropolitan police. For this reason, it requested that an independent investigation be initiated to clarify the facts.
Also on Sunday, more than a thousand people gathered outside New Scotland Yard, the London police headquarters, and marched to London Parliament to demonstrate against the violence on Saturday. The police kept their distance and did not intervene.
Chants of “this is the beginning” with the crowd invited to attend an online meeting Thursday to learn about the next steps. The crowd is now dispersing. The police kept a very low profile during today’s vigil. pic.twitter.com/qfYCIU7njG
– Aamna Mohdin (@aamnamohdin) March 14, 2021
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