Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, Sunday order investigations into how the Metropolitan Police handled a peaceful vigil for Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman whose kidnapping and murder – allegedly by a police officer – left the UK at rest.
Images of police officers violently violating Saturday night’s emotional vigilance and arresting women led to a shout-out, including calls for police chief Cressida Dick to resign. Thousands gathered at a memorial service for Everard in London to pay tribute and raise their voices to end violence against women, before being overrun by police.
Khan called the scenes at Clapham Common, a public park in south London, “completely unacceptable” and said the police response was “inappropriate or proportionate”.
This is because there have also been questions about how the Metropolitan Police are handling an allegation of past misconduct by a police officer accused of kidnapping and killing Everard.
“The @metpoliceuk should start rebuilding relations with women who have lost confidence and hurt, “the local group Reclaim These Streets, which was involved in planning vigilance, in a tweet.
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Metropolitan police officers arrested a woman on March 13 during a vigil for Sarah Everard in London.
Four people have been arrested in London, which according to the Metropolitan Police has not been approved due to the restrictions on gatherings due to COVID-19.
In a statement Sunday, police said a “small minority of people” at the night watch refused to make repeated demands to leave, comply and “sing to officers” and throw items.
Everard, a marketing manager, disappeared on March 3 after leaving her friend’s home in Clapham Common sometime after 9pm to walk to her home in Brixton. Her remains were found last week in a wooded area of Kent, about 60 kilometers from London.
Her family remembered her as a kind and considerate daughter and sister.
“She always put others in the foreground and had the most wonderful sense of humor,” her family said statement.
Wayne Couzens, a police constable, is charged with kidnapping and murdering her. The 48-year-old joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 2018 and his primary duty was to patrol diplomatic premises, mainly embassies.
Three days before Everard went missing, Couzens was allegedly exposed to a fast food restaurant in London, the BBC reported. The Metropolitan Police are also investigating whether officers responded appropriately to this incident.
Over the past two weeks, Everard’s disappearance and death have sparked a national conversation about the safety of women. Thousands of women shared their own experiences of feeling unsafe in public places, especially when walking alone at night.
Metropolitan Police
An image of Everard captured on cameras the night she went missing.
Because of the pandemic restrictions, organizers canceled the night vigil at the Clapham Common Memorial Saturday night after police urged people to provide a “legal and safer way to express your opinion.”
Yet hundreds of people visited the memorial to lay flowers in emotional tributes to Everard. Among them was Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton).
Hollie Adams / Getty Images, Daniel Leal-olivas / Getty Images
People pay tribute to the memorial to Sarah Everard at Clapham Common in London on March 14, 2021.
As the evening approached, thousands of people gathered at the memorial with signs to end violence against women and defend the police. Some started giving speeches from the orchestra.
“At this point, officers on the ground were facing a very difficult decision,” Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said in a statement. “Hundreds of people were tightly packed, which carries a very high risk of sending Covid-19 out easily. The police must act for the safety of people. That is the only responsible thing to do.”
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Hundreds of people gathered at a peaceful vigil for Sarah Everard at Clapham Common in south London.
On the videos of the scene, police are aggressively clashing with people during the memorial service.
Unnecessarily heavy police presence at #SarahEverard vigilance. The tension is high because #Sarah was allegedly killed by a metropolitan police officer, so you would think they would handle this vigilance with some sensitivity. #notallmenbutallwomen
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Officers arrest a woman during the vigil for Sarah Everard in London on March 13.
Many people online, including lawmakers, have accused authorities of exacerbating the nationwide anger and sadness over Everard’s death and have asked the police commissioner to resign.
Cressida Dick has lost the trust of the millions of women in London and must resign. The scenes of the police of the Clapham Common vigilance in memory of Sarah Everard are shameful tonight and shame the Metropolitan police.
The scenes are Clapham Common is unscrupulous. The leadership of the Metropolitan Police severely misjudged it and exacerbated the lack of confidence created by the murder of Sarah. There had to be a moment for her and other victims.
The scenes in Clapham tonight are deeply disturbing. Women came together to mourn Sarah Everard – they had to be able to do it peacefully. I share their anger and dismay at how it was handled. That was not the way to police this protest.
This is what the Sarah Everard vigilant looked like before dozens of Met police pulled in, disrupted the mourners and continued with the arrest of women from the bandstand. Shameful
Interior Minister Priti Patel said she had requested a full report on what had happened, calling the night watch footage “disturbing”.
Some of the footage circulating online of the night watchman in Clapham is disturbing. I asked the Metropolitan Police for a full report on what happened. My thoughts stay with Sarah’s family and friends at this awful time.
As of Sunday, Metropolitan Police Chief Dick has continued to defend the decisions of her department.
“I understand why so many people want to pay tribute and make a statement about this,” she said. at a press conference. “Indeed, if it were legal, I would have been vigilant.”
She stressed that she believes officers acted correctly to interrupt the event.
“Unfortunately later on we had a very large crowd together, many speeches, and rightly so, as far as I can see, my team feels that this is now an illegal gathering which, according to regulations, poses a significant risk to human health. “