Sam Kerr's trial on charges of racially aggravated harassment of a Metropolitan Police officer begins in London

A London court played a video showing football star Sam Kerr allegedly racially harassing a London Metropolitan Police officer after a night of drinking. The video, taken from the body-worn camera of officer Stephen Lovell, was shown to the jury at Kingston Crown Court on the first day of Ms. Kerr's trial.

The 31-year-old Australian is accused of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer under the UK's Public Order Act. She has pleaded not guilty. In the 30-minute video played to the jury, Ms. Kerr can be heard saying, "You guys are f***ing idiots, and you’re white, you guys are f***ing idiots, and you’re white." She was subsequently arrested for racially aggravated public order offense and criminal damage, although the criminal damage charge was later dropped.

On the first day of the trial, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC outlined the police allegations of events that occurred in the early hours of January 30, 2023. At that time, Ms. Kerr and her partner, Kristie Mewis, had called a black cab to go home after a night of drinking. Mr. Jones stated that both women had been drinking and one of them had vomited in the cab. The taxi driver called the police to complain about their behavior and alleged they had tried to smash the car window. Instead of taking them to Ms. Kerr's initially requested address, the driver took them directly to Twickenham Police Station.

The court heard that when the taxi pulled up at the police station at 2:20 am, officers Lovell and his partner were returning from an unrelated incident and noticed glass on the road and saw Ms. Kerr climbing out of a damaged car window. The officers asked the two women to come into the police station. Two other officers discussed the incident with them and Officer Lovell at the station. Video footage from one of the officers' body-worn cameras, played in court, showed the two women in the station's waiting area, frequently interrupting each other and the officers loudly, trying to explain their version of events.

During a lengthy and emotional interaction with the police, both women stated that they believed they had been "kidnapped" by the driver. Ms. Kerr told the officers that she and her partner felt "scared" when the taxi driver started driving in a different direction to their home. Ms. Kerr said, "We also called the police, we were stuck in that taxi." She also said, "When a man is driving a f***ing car with two women in it fast, that is f***ing scary. Please put yourself in the position of women, we were both stuck in a man’s car for 30 minutes, he was blatantly ignoring us, you have to understand the emergency we both felt."

One of the key issues of discussion was the damaged car window and who would pay for the taxi’s damage. The video showed Ms. Kerr at one point holding her phone up to Officer Lovell, which he stated showed her bank account details. During the interaction, Ms. Kerr stated that if she was at fault, she would pay for any damages or cleaning costs. She said to the officer, "Listen to the recordings because I will never refuse to pay." She also said, "He is talking s***. This is f***ing racist." Officer Lovell stated in court that when Ms. Kerr held her phone up to him, he felt she was "trying to belittle" him.

In the video, Mewis admitted to smashing the taxi's window and stated that she would not have done so if she hadn't been scared and trying to escape. Officers in the video told them that they would ask the driver about the route he took. They also tried multiple times to understand the women’s claim of calling the police from the taxi. After being warned they could be arrested for being drunk and disorderly, they were eventually allowed to leave the police station, but Ms. Kerr was charged with racially aggravated harassment at 3:17 am. Mr. Jones told the court that Ms. Kerr’s ethnicity is “white-Anglo-Indian.”

Mr. Jones said, "The defendant was clearly upset and angry at what had happened and the way the police were dealing with it." He also said, "The defendant became abusive and insulting, and specifically insulted him on the basis of his race. The question is not what she said, but what did she mean by her abuse to the officer dealing with her? What was her intention? And secondly, how did that make Officer Lovell feel?" During the day of evidence, Ms. Kerr listened intently and took notes on a small notepad.

The court heard that Ms. Kerr voluntarily returned to the police station the following day to be interviewed about the incident. She told police that she had vomited out of the taxi window before the driver started driving erratically. In the interview, she said she did not recall calling the officer "f***ing stupid and white." After being played the video, she accepted that she had said those words. Mr. Jones told the court that in her police interview, Ms. Kerr said she was "just very angry... that’s how I felt." She said, "The whole situation was distressing."

When asked if she thought her words were racist, Mr. Jones told the court that she said, "I realise anything can be deemed racist, that’s for sure," but she denied any intention to cause harm. He added that Ms. Kerr stated she "wished she had just walked away and gone home." The criminal damage charge was dropped after the two agreed to pay for the taxi repairs.

Giving evidence on Monday local time, Mr. Jones asked Officer Lovell how he would describe Ms. Kerr’s "tone and demeanor" towards him. He replied, "Like, abusive." He also said, "The defendant calling you a 'f***ing stupid white c***'… how did that make you feel?" He replied, "Sad." The officer’s testimony has not fully concluded and he is yet to be cross-examined by Ms. Kerr’s lawyer, Grace Forbes.

In her opening statement, Ms. Forbes told the court that no one is denying her client said the words, "but just saying those words, even those words, does not make you criminally guilty, the law is more nuanced, and more humane than that." She told the jury that the charge boils down to "intent, impact" and "racial aggravation." She said, "When you strip away the headlines, and look at the evidence, you will see that Samantha Kerr was not hostile to this officer because he was white." She also said, "What we have is a comment, albeit badly expressed, about power status, privilege and how those things affect perception."

Ms. Kerr’s parents and brother were in attendance on the first day of the trial. A small number of supporters were also present. Ms. Kerr is expected to give evidence when the case returns to court on Tuesday.