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PC at centre of Kerr trial challenged over motives Kerr 'felt ignored' by police after taxi vomit row
(about 2 hours later)
Chelsea and Australia star Samantha Kerr is considered to be one of the world's best strikersChelsea and Australia star Samantha Kerr is considered to be one of the world's best strikers
A police officer has denied that he claimed to have experienced harassment from Chelsea and Australia striker Samantha Kerr "purely to get a criminal charge over the line". Chelsea striker Samantha Kerr "felt ignored" by Met Police officers after telling them a taxi driver had left her fearing for her life, a jury has heard.
The footballer, 31, denies causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell during an incident at Twickenham police station in south-west London in the early hours of 30 January 2023. The Australia international is charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell by calling him "stupid and white".
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised the Met Police to charge Ms Kerr after PC Lovell submitted a second witness statement, a jury at Kingston Crown Court heard. Ms Kerr and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been for a night out in south-west London and decided to get a taxi home in the early hours of 30 January 2023.
The CPS initially ruled that the evidence did not meet the threshold to charge Ms Kerr following the officer's first statement, given 10 months before the second. The driver said he drove the couple to Twickenham police station after one of the passengers was sick in his vehicle, refused to pay the clean-up fee, and smashed the rear window.
Footage of Sam Kerr calling PC Stephen Lovell "stupid and white" was played to the jury on MondayFootage of Sam Kerr calling PC Stephen Lovell "stupid and white" was played to the jury on Monday
Footage from the officer's body-worn camera was played to the jury on Monday, in which Ms Kerr uses an expletive and tells the officer he is "stupid and white". PC Lovell first saw Ms Kerr as she crawled through a smashed taxi window outside the police station, Kingston Crown Court was told.
The court heard that PC Lovell gave a witness statement on 30 January 2023 and a second on 5 December. The women told officers the taxi driver had been "acting in a crazy way" by driving very fast, repeatedly stopping and speeding up again, locking them in the car, and refusing to let them go for about 15 minutes.
Grace Forbes, defending, questioned PC Lovell about his two statements. A "heated" discussion about the incident ensued at the station, during which Ms Kerr allegedly became "abusive and insulting" towards PC Lovell. She was captured on a body-worn camera calling him "stupid and white".
She told the court: "Your first statement made no mention of stupid and white having had an impact." The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) initially ruled that the evidence did not meet the threshold to charge Ms Kerr, but a second statement by PC Lovell made 10 months after his first led to the Met Police charging the striker.
PC Lovell confirmed it did not. Giving evidence earlier on Tuesday, PC Lovell denied he had made his later statement "purely to get a criminal charge over the line".
PC Stephen Lovell in court on TuesdayPC Stephen Lovell in court on Tuesday
When asked if he was "determined" to pursue Ms Kerr "through the criminal courts", the officer replied: "Yes." Ms Kerr accepts making the "stupid and white" comments, but denies they amount to the charge.
"The CPS identified that there was no evidence of harassment, alarm or distress being caused," Ms Forbes said. In a police interview the following day, Ms Kerr, of previous good character, told the officer in charge that she "shouldn't have been so front-footed" but she had been feeling "very, very threatened".
"[I am] going to suggest you are claiming to have experienced this impact purely to get a criminal charge over the line." She did not have a lawyer, and told the officer she vomited through the window, "and in that moment onwards the taxi driver became very aggressive" and was driving dangerously.
PC Lovell denied this. "He literally was so dangerous and so scary and he had us both very, very afraid."
Sam Kerr signed for Chelsea in 2019Sam Kerr signed for Chelsea in 2019
Prosecution barrister Bill Emlyn Jones KC asked PC Lovell if he had been concerned about describing his feelings when he gave his first statement. During her police interview, Ms Kerr explained that she could not recall which officer was PC Lovell, but said: "We spoke to three officers and honestly I didn't feel very helped.
On re-examination, PC Lovell said Ms Kerr's words made him feel "belittled and upset". "We were both very scared, very upset and we didn't feel like we, I guess, were believed on arrival, and were kind of being – not forced – but told 'just behave, just behave, just behave'."
He added: "I didn't make something up to get a charge over the line." She added: "I just want to add how I didn't feel we were being heard; I've never been in a situation like that where the taxi driver has locked the door and [driven] two females around – that's why I felt so angry and so upset."
PC Lovell told the court that in his second statement he said Ms Kerr's words had left him feeling "shocked, upset and humiliated" and that her comments about race "were too far and I took great offence to them".
He was asked by the prosecution if that statement was true, to which he answered "yes".
Ms Kerr confirmed she had been drinking on a night out with her partner, fellow footballer Kristie Mewis, when she was sick out of the window of a taxi on the way home.
The pair were driven to Twickenham police station by the taxi driver who complained the passengers refused to pay clean-up costs and smashed the vehicle's rear window, it is alleged.
The court was played the audio recording of a voluntary police interview given by Ms Kerr on 30 January 2023.
Ms Kerr said that she had felt "very threatened for my life" in the taxi, saying the driver had locked the doors, and that she "didn't feel heard or protected in the police station".
Ms Kerr initially said she did not recall saying the words "stupid and white" to PC Stephen Lovell.
After she was played the police body worn footage she was asked if she had made PC Lovell feel harassed, alarmed or distressed.
She said: "No, not at all."
Asked if she was aware her words could be perceived as racist, she replied in the interview, "I am aware anything could be perceived as racist for sure".
"I was obviously intoxicated and I shouldn't have been so front-footed," she added.
The trial continues.The trial continues.
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