Australia and Chelsea striker Samantha Kerr faced charges of harassing Met Police officer PC Stephen Lovell with racially aggravated behavior after the officer responded to her allegations regarding a taxi driver. During the hearing at Kingston Crown Court, Ms. Kerr told the court that she felt “ignored” by the police during the whole incident. She also blamed the taxi driver for her ordeal, recounted the sequence of events, and added that they were left feeling scared and upset after the taxi driver locked the doors of the cab and drove recklessly, which led one of the passengers to vomit.
It has been reported that one of the passengers, Kristie Mewis, who is the partner of Ms. Kerr and a West Ham midfielder, refused to pay the clean-up fee to the driver and smashed the rear window. The cab driver later dropped them off at Twickenham police station, where the argument with PC Lovell began. Body-worn cameras used by the force captured Ms. Kerr referring to the officer as “stupid and white”.
Evidence initially did not support charges, and the Crown Prosecution Service dismissed charges against Ms. Kerr. However, the case was reopened after PC Lovell gave a second statement about the incident, claiming harassment and racial abuse. Ms. Kerr admitted to making the statement but denied it amounted to the charge of harassment with the racial component.
The incident took place after a night out in southwest London and is still ongoing. Ms. Kerr faced the charges in court and fought her corner while detailing the incidents before and after the arrival of police officers at Twickenham police station
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