The British government is asking for an investigation after police clashed with mourners during a night vigil held on Saturday night in memory of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman who went missing earlier this month and allegedly by a police officer of the same police force. Metropolitan Government Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said on Sunday she was “more determined” than ever to lead the organization, and said she was not considering resigning.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and British Home Secretary Priti Patel on Sunday both called for an independent inquiry into how the city’s main police force closed the vigilance against coronavirus restrictions.
Patel said “some of the footage circulating online of the vigilance in Clapham is disturbing” and said she had asked the Metropolitan Police for a “full report on what happened” at the guard.
Patel added that she would ask the police watchdog, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, a government body that assesses police forces, to investigate the matter, according to BBC News.
In a statement, Khan reiterated her call, saying that “scenes arising from the policing of the night watch were completely unacceptable.” He added that he had spoken to the commissioner and deputy commissioner in town hall on Sunday to let them explain what had happened, saying he was “not happy with the explanation they gave.”
Khan said he also asked the Inspectorate of Constabulary for a full investigation into what happened, and that he also asked the Independent Office of Police Conduct to investigate the actions of officers at the guard.
Dick, the first female commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said she agreed on the need for a ‘sober review’ and defended how officers reacted to the ‘really large crowd’, reports BBC News.
Everard, a marketing manager, was last seen walking home from a friend’s home in south London on March 3. She was found dead a week later and police have confirmed that Wayne Couzens, an elite officer of the London Metropolitan Police’s diplomatic protection order, has been charged with kidnapping and murder.
Official vigilance at Clapham Common – near where Everard was last seen – was suspended earlier Saturday after a judge ruled that attending a major rally could be illegal due to coronavirus guidelines.
Mourners were encouraged to light candles at home in honor of Everard, and some paid tribute in Clapham Common during the day in a tribute to Everard’s life, including Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who Sky News reported made an unofficial visit.
But by Saturday night, several hundred mourners had gathered anyway. Women from all walks of life joined the event as an act of solidarity and demanded that safety from male violence be required.
Officers at the scene encouraged participants to leave, and the vast majority of people did so quickly, according to Helen Ball, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
“Unfortunately, a small minority of people started singing to officers, pushing objects and throwing them,” she said.
The vigilance led to four arrests which, according to the police, were for breaches of public order and the violation of health prescriptions.
The officers’ tactics have been questioned and criticized by activists and legislators from across the political spectrum. videos and images of women being pinned down and forcibly removed went viral online.
Referring to the police officer charged with the murder of Everard, the participants shouted, “Arrest your own!” “Police, go home!”
In a statement Sunday morning, Ball said officers on the ground “absolutely did not want to be in a position where enforcement action was needed”, but that they were placed in this position because of the urgent need to protect people’s safety … pandemic is not over yet and gatherings of people from all over London and beyond are still unsafe, adding: “We accept that the actions of our officers have been questioned.”
Khan said he had received an “assurance” from the Met last week that the vigilant would be sensitive.
“In my opinion, that was not the case.” Khan said.
Many, including the leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party, have called for Dick to do so. thank from her post about her officers’ behavior. Dick calls it “extremely difficult policing” and says she does not think “someone who was not in the operation can make a detailed remark about right and wrong.”
In a video posted in Twitter, Officer Patsy Stevenson, the woman pinned down by officers, urged the public to shift the narration from the police to what happened to Everard, by appealing to the public to show their support on London’s Parliament Square on Monday show.
HANNAH MCKAY / REUTERS
Everard’s death sparked a national outburst of anger and sparked a national debate in Britain over women’s safety and sexual assault.
“I am shocked and shocked by the news from the Met about Sarah Everard, and I think the whole country will be united in the feeling for her friends, her family, and we will share their shock and sadness,” British said. Premier Boris Johnson said. “Every woman must be able to walk safely in our streets.”