'Scared' Kerr 'trying to escape' from taxi before alleged racial abuse, court told

Australian women's soccer captain Sam Kerr was arrested in London after being accused of racially abusing a London police officer. According to the UK court, the incident stemmed from her climbing out of a damaged rear window of a taxi and causing "harassment, alarm or distress" to the police officer.

The jury watched a video showing Kerr telling police that she and her partner, Kristie Mewis, refused to let the taxi driver get them out of the car after an argument over compensation for vomit in the vehicle, fearing they were being kidnapped. Kerr was recorded twice calling officer Stephen Lovell a “fucking stupid white cop” and insisting on going to court rather than paying for the window damage, ultimately leading to her arrest.

The incident occurred in the early hours of January 30, 2023, when Kerr and US national player Mewis were celebrating Kerr's hat-trick in a Chelsea match. Police witnesses said the two were "drunk and emotional" and in a "distressed state" at the time. Kerr's defense lawyer, Grace Forbes, stated at Kingston Criminal Court that Kerr did not intend to "cause harassment, alarm or distress to Officer Lovell," and that even if the charges were true, they did not constitute racism.

Forbes argued, "Samantha Kerr was not hostile to the officer because he was white, these words, however poorly expressed, were a commentary on power, privilege and how those factors affect perception." The maximum penalty under UK law is 26 weeks in prison. Kerr pleaded not guilty, sitting in the dock dressed in black, while prosecutor Bill Emlyn Hughes presented the prosecution's evidence, including a roughly 30-minute video taken by Officer Lovell's colleague's bodycam.

In the video, Kerr and Mewis are seen arguing with Officer Lovell and his colleagues, at times becoming abusive and at other times crying, explaining that they believed the driver had kidnapped them and feared they would be raped, hence trying to break the car window to escape. "I hate to say this, but when a man is driving a fucking car, for two women, that's fucking, that's fucking terrifying," Kerr said. They repeatedly mentioned the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, who was kidnapped in London in 2021 by Wayne Couzens, then a serving police officer.

"This taxi driver held me and her for about 15 minutes," added Kerr, now 31. "I said, 'Please, let us out, I'll pay you whatever you want'. We were begging to get out of there. We were trying to escape - we were trapped. You have to understand the urgency we both felt as women at that moment. What do you expect us to do as women in that situation?" In the video, Officer Lovell stated that while he understood their fear, it was hypothetical, "it didn't happen," while the damage to the taxi "did happen." He offered two options: pay the fare, cleaning fee, and window damage, totaling just under $2,000; or be arrested, charged with criminal damage, and make their case in court.

"I'll take option two," Kerr said, after stating a few minutes earlier: "I'm not paying some dodgy guy for the window. I will sit here until four in the morning and get Chelsea's lawyer to deal with it. I'm not backing down." She then called Lovell a "fucking stupid white cop." Kerr was subsequently arrested for criminal damage and a racially aggravated public order offense. Kerr and Mewis later paid for the damage, and that charge was dropped. Kerr's parents, Roger and Roxanne, and younger brother, Levi, flew from Perth and were present in court. Due to media attention, they were surrounded by British and Australian journalists in the public gallery. The trial is expected to last four days, resuming on Tuesday, with Kerr expected to give evidence.