The British government is requesting an investigation after police confronted a vigil on Saturday night in memory of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman who disappeared earlier this month and was allegedly killed by a police officer from the same police force. police. Metropolitan 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 called for an independent inquiry into how the city’s main police force shut down surveillance of coronavirus restrictions.
Patel said “some of the footage circulating online since the Clapham vigil is annoying” and said he had asked the Metropolitan Police for a “complete report of what happened” at the vigil.
Patel added that he would ask the police guard, His Majesty’s Constitutional Inspectorate, a government body that evaluates police forces, to look into the matter, according to BBC News.
In a statementKhan recalled the call, saying that “the scenes from the vigilante police were completely unacceptable.” He added that he spoke on Sunday with the commissioner and deputy commissioner at the City Hall so that they could explain what happened, saying that he was “not satisfied with the explanation they offered”.
Khan said he also asked the Constabulary Inspectorate for a full investigation into what happened and that he also asked the Independent Bureau of Police Conduct to investigate the officers’ vigilante actions.
Dick, the first female commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said she agreed with the need for a “sober review” and defended the way in which officers responded to the “really big crowd”, BBC News reported.
Everard, a marketing director, was last seen on March 3 walking home from a friend’s house in south London. She was found dead a week later, and police confirmed that Wayne Couzens, an elite officer with the London Metropolitan Police Diplomatic Protection Command, had been charged with kidnapping and murder.
The planned official vigil on Clapham Common – near where Everard was last seen alive – was canceled earlier on Saturday after a judge ruled that “attending a large gathering could be illegal” because of coronavirus guidelines.
The mourners were encouraged to light candles at home in honor of Everard, and some came to pay their respects during the day at Clapham Common in a tribute to Everard’s life, including Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who Sky News reported made an unofficial visit.
But on Saturday night, several hundred mourners gathered anyway. Women from all walks of life joined the event, which turned into an act of solidarity, demanding security against male violence.
Officers on the scene encouraged participants to leave and the vast majority of people did so quickly, according to Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Helen Ball.
“Unfortunately, a small minority of people started playing officers, pushing and throwing objects,” she said.
The privileges led to four arrests, which police said were public order offenses and violations of health regulations.
Officers’ tactics were questioned and criticized by activists and parliamentarians across the political spectrum thereafter. videos and images of women fixed and forcibly removed went viral online.
Referring to the police officer accused of killing Everard, the participants shouted, “Arrest yours!” – 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 was needed,” but “were placed in that position because of the imperative need to protect safety.” to the people … the pandemic is not over, and gatherings of people from all over London and beyond are not yet certain, “he added.
Khan said he received “assurances” last week from the Met that the beam would be “sensitively controlled.”
“In my opinion, that was not the case.” Khan said.
Many, including Liberal Democrat leaders, have called for Dick to do so resign from her post on the conduct of her officers. Dick called it “extremely difficult policing” and said he did not believe that “someone who was not in the operation can provide a detailed comment on correctness and error.”
In a video posted in Twitter, Patsy Stevenson, the woman who was caught by officers, urged the public to remove the narrative from the police and return to what happened to Everard, calling on the public to show their support on Monday in the London Parliament.
HANNAH MCKAY / REUTERS
Everard’s death sparked a national outburst of rage and resumed a national debate in Britain over women’s safety and sexual assault.
“I am shocked and horrified by the news from the Met about Sarah Everard and I believe that the whole country will be united in that feeling for her friends, her family and we will share their shock and pain,” the British said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “Every woman should feel able to walk our streets safely.”