London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday ordered investigations into how the Metropolitan Police conducted a peaceful vigil for Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman whose kidnapping and murder – allegedly in the hands of a police officer – left the UK staggering.
Images of police forcefully interrupting Saturday night’s emotional vigil and arresting women sparked protests, including calls for police chief Cressida Dick to resign. Thousands gathered at a memorial for Everard in London to pay their respects and raise their voices to end violence against women, before being surrounded by the police.
Khan called the scenes at Clapham Common, a public park in south London, “completely unacceptable” and said the police response “was neither appropriate nor proportionate”.
Questions also arose about how the Metropolitan Police handled an allegation of previous misconduct by a police officer accused of kidnapping and killing Everard.
“THE @metpoliceuk must begin to rebuild relations with women who have lost confidence and are suffering, “said local group Reclaim These Streets, which is involved in planning vigils, in a tweet.
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Metropolitan police officers arrest a woman on a vigil for Sarah Everard in London on Saturday, March 13.
Four people were arrested at the London vigil, which the Metropolitan Police said was not sanctioned due to restrictions on meetings because of COVID-19.
In a statement on Sunday, police said a “small minority of people” on the vigil refused to comply with repeated demands to leave and began “shouting at the police” and throwing items.
Everard, a marketing executive, disappeared on March 3, after leaving his friend’s home in Clapham Common, shortly after 9 pm, to walk to his home in Brixton. His remains were found last week in a forest area in Kent, about 60 miles from London.
Her family remembered her as a kind and caring daughter and sister.
“She always put others first and had an incredible sense of humor,” said his family in a demonstration.
Wayne Couzens, a police officer, was accused of kidnapping and murdering her. The 48-year-old joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 2018 and his main role was to patrol diplomatic facilities, especially embassies.
Three days before Everard’s disappearance, Couzens was denounced for allegedly exposing himself in a fast food restaurant in London, the BBC reported. The Metropolitan Police is also being investigated to see whether the police responded adequately to this incident.
In the past two weeks, Everard’s disappearance and death has sparked a national debate about women’s safety. Thousands of women shared their own experiences of feeling insecure in public places, especially while walking alone at night.
Metropolitan police
An image of Everard captured by a surveillance camera the night she disappeared.
Because of restrictions on the pandemic, organizers canceled Saturday night’s vigil at the Clapham Common memorial after police asked people to find “a legal and safer way to express their opinions”.
Still, hundreds of people visited the memorial to deposit flowers in exciting tributes to Everard. Among them was Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (also known as Kate Middleton).
Hollie Adams / Getty Images, Daniel Leal-olivas / Getty Images
People pay homage at the Sarah Everard memorial in London’s Clapham Common on March 14, 2021.
As the night approached, thousands gathered at the memorial with posters to end violence against women and strip the police. Some began to give speeches at the bandstand.
“At this point, officers on the ground faced a very difficult decision,” Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said in a statement. “Hundreds of people were huddled together, representing a very real risk of transmitting Covid-19 easily. The police must act for the safety of the people, this is the only responsible thing to do.”
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Hundreds of people gathered for a peaceful vigil by Sarah Everard at Clapham Common, south London.
Crime scene videos show the police aggressively confronting people at the memorial.
Unnecessary heavy police presence on the #SarahEverard vigil. Tensions are high because #Sarah was allegedly murdered by a metropolitan police officer, so you would think that they would handle this vigil with some sensitivity. #notallmenbutallwomen
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Police officers arrest a woman on the vigil for Sarah Everard in London on March 13.
Many people online, including lawmakers, have accused authorities of exacerbating anger and grief across the country over Everard’s death and called for the resignation of the police commissioner.
Cressida Dick has lost the confidence of millions of women in London and must resign. Tonight’s scenes of policing the Clapham Common vigil in memory of Sarah Everard are utterly shameful and embarrass the Metropolitan Police.
The scenes in Clapham Common are unscrupulous. The Metropolitan Police leadership took this seriously and exacerbated the lack of confidence created by Sarah’s murder. There had to be a time for her and other victims.
The scenes at Clapham tonight are deeply disturbing. The women came together to mourn Sarah Everard – they should have been able to do this peacefully. I share your anger and upset about how it was handled. This was not the way to police this protest.
This is what Sarah Everard’s vigil looked like before dozens of Met policemen approached, disturbed the mourners, and arrested women outside the bandstand. Shameful
Interior Secretary Priti Patel said she had requested a full report on what happened, classifying the images from the vigil as “disturbing”.
Some of the images that circulated online from the Clapham vigil are disturbing. I asked the Metropolitan Police for a full report on what happened. My thoughts remain with Sarah’s family and friends at this terrible time.
As of Sunday, Dick, the head of the Metropolitan Police, continued to defend the decisions made by his department.
“I understand why so many people wanted to come and pay their respects and make a statement about it,” she said at a press conference. “In fact, if it were legal, I would be on watch.”
She emphasized that she believed the police had acted correctly in dispersing the meeting.
“Unfortunately, later on, we had a really large crowd that got together, lots of speeches and, quite rightly, from what I can see, my team felt that this is an illegal meeting that poses a considerable risk to people’s health, from according to regulations. “