Londoners protest after officer charged with Sarah Everard's murder
14 March, 2021
Police found in London clashed with mourners and protesters on Saturday (Mar 13) after more than a thousand persons gathered to tag the killing of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, hours after the officer charged with her murder appeared found in court.
Everard's disappearance due to she walked residence on the night time of March 3 had led to a wave of accounts from women of all ages about the dangers of walking streets alone at night, and dismay in the failure of law enforcement and wider world to tackle this.
Early on Saturday an impromptu memorial with flowers and candles sprang up round the bandstand in Clapham Common in southwest London, close to where Everard was last seen alive.
Kate, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, was first among those that paid their respects. A palace established said Kate "remembers what it had been prefer to walk around London during the night before she was wedded".
By later Saturday around one thousand people - mostly ladies - gathered at the website to fork out their respects and protest at having less reliability they felt when out by itself. Some chanted "shame you" at law enforcement who were present.
Campaign groups had wished to organise a good formal vigil, but London's Metropolitan Police said persons should not gather due to coronavirus restrictions. The head of the drive, Cressida Dick, stated any vigil "would be unlawful and will be unsafe".
As more people arrived during the evening, some chanting "sisters united will never be defeated", law enforcement stormed in and tried to disperse the crowds gathered around a bandstand. Video showed scuffles and some women forced to the ground.
Reuters witnesses saw law enforcement drag several females away.
Metropolitan Law enforcement Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said 4 persons were arrested for community buy offences and breaches of medical Protection Regulations.
"We absolutely didn't want to be ready where enforcement actions was important," Ball said in a affirmation. "But we were put in this position as a result of the overriding have to protect people's safety."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan - who is accountable for policing in metropolis - said officers' response "was at times neither appropriate or perhaps proportionate" and added that he was trying to find an urgent description from Dick.
Labour Get together leader Keir Starmer called the scenes "deeply disturbing" and Conservative interior minister Priti Patel said she as well wanted answers from police about "upsetting" images.
WOMEN'S SAFETY
Laura, 24, who didn't want to provide her name for concern with reprisals, described the picture as "pretty negative" with "a couple of mostly male officers seeking at a masses of ladies from the center of the bandstand".
"We're not threatening anyone, we only want to give our respects to Sarah," she told the Thomson Reuters Base.
Earlier on Saturday, Primary Minister Boris Johnson said he and his partner Carrie Symonds would light a good candle in storage of Everard.
"I will do everything I can to make certain the streets will be safe and ensure women and girls do not deal with harassment or abuse," he said.
Appearing in London's Westminster Magistrates' Courtroom on Saturday morning, 48-year-old officer Wayne Couzens, using a grey tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his identity.
Couzens's lawyer did not enter a good plea to the fees of kidnap and murder before a fuller courtroom hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Couzens remains in custody.
Everard, a advertising executive, disappeared while jogging home from a good friend's house at about 9.30pm on Mar 3. Police learned Everard's human body on Wednesday in woodland about 80 km southeast of London. The court heard that her body was within a builder's refuse tote, and was identified using dental records.
Couzens joined the Metropolitan Law enforcement in 2018 and guarded foreign embassies before his arrest.
England's police watchdog has launched an investigation in to the Metropolitan Police's handling of the case.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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