Footballer tells court police treated her differently

Chelsea footballer Sam Kerr told the court that she believed she was treated differently by officers at Twickenham police station based on "what they perceived my skin colour to be." Kerr denied racially aggravated harassment of police officer Stephen Lovell on the night of January 30, 2023, in southwest London, allegedly calling him a "stupid white cop." This denial is central to her defense against the charges.

Kerr was allegedly taken to the police station after a dispute with a taxi driver over payment. A video played at Kingston Crown Court showed Kerr using abusive language towards officers and claiming it was a "race thing." At the time of the incident, Kerr was with her partner, West Ham United midfielder Kristie Mewis, who was also involved in the events leading up to the arrest.

Kerr told the court that the taxi driver took them to Twickenham police station because she said she had been "sick" out of the car window and Mewis smashed the rear window after the driver locked the doors. The defense asked Kerr about her feelings at the police station with the three officers, including Officer Lovell. She told the court that she initially felt relieved, but then scared because "they were trying to tell us that we were the ones that had committed the crime." She added that the behavior of two of the officers was "confrontational."

When asked what she meant by that, she said: "Not believing us—telling us things that I know had happened didn't happen, making me feel like a liar, making me start to question myself." When defense barrister Grace Forbes asked Kerr how she felt watching the video, Kerr said: "It's really difficult to see myself like that." Kerr told the court she filmed what was happening at the time because she felt she needed to prove she was being treated unfairly, seeking to document the alleged injustice.

The court heard that Officer Lovell said in the video: "Do you think a taxi driver who is going to rape and murder you is going to take you to a police station?" Kerr responded in the video by saying he was a "privileged white cop." When asked in court why she said that at the time, she said Officer Lovell "had no idea about the power and privilege he holds in that moment or in his life, because the comment he made about what the driver could have done to me shows he has never considered what it is like to be a woman."

Kerr also told the court she feared for her life as she and her partner were "stuck" in the back of the taxi. Kerr told the jury that when she started to feel sick, she put her head out the window, but the driver closed the window and began "driving dangerously." When asked, she said Mewis kicked the rear window several times with her boot until it broke, and she felt relieved "that there was finally a way to get out."

The footballer also told the court that the murder of Sarah Everard was "lingering" in her mind, as she said the taxi driver locked the doors and did not respond when she and her partner "begged" him to let them out. Kerr also told the court that she had experienced situations where she was "treated differently" because of her skin color. She stated that she considers herself to be "white Anglo-Indian," with her mother from Australia and her father from India. When questioned by the defense, she said the first time she experienced racism was when she was nine or ten years old.

She told the court that in some situations she believed she was treated differently, such as on social media. In shopping centers, "I often get followed by security guards if I am not dressed appropriately," she added. Kerr told the court she moved to the UK from Australia after signing with Chelsea in December 2019. The trial is ongoing, with further testimonies expected in the coming days.