Metropolitan Police response criticised at Sam Kerr's racially aggravated harassment trial in London

The trial of Australian soccer star Sam Kerr entered its sixth day, with the defense attorney arguing in closing arguments that the police response was "completely unacceptable" on the night Kerr called a police officer "stupid and white." The case concerns comments Kerr made to London police officer Stephen Lovell in January 2023 after a drunken dispute over a taxi fare.

Kerr has denied one count of racially aggravated harassment. Defense attorney Grace Forbes stated in her final address to the jury that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Officer Lovell experienced "harassment, alarm, or distress" to the extent that the jury could find Kerr guilty. The jury retired to consider its verdict on Monday afternoon, local time in London.

Kerr, 31, is the captain of the Australian women's national soccer team, the "Matildas," and also plays for Chelsea in the English Women's Super League. She is also Australia's all-time leading goal scorer. Forbes told the jury that police failed to adequately investigate Kerr and Kristie Mewis's claims that they were "held hostage" by the taxi driver.

Forbes emphasized: "The fact is that the police did not take any meaningful steps to investigate that claim, either on the night or in the two years since." In police bodycam footage, Kerr asked police more than 20 times to "listen" to recordings of what happened inside the taxi. The court heard that no officer searched the taxi for cameras, instead accepting the driver's claim that he did not have any. The driver was never formally interviewed by police and did not provide evidence in the case.

Kerr testified in court last week that she felt the officers were discriminating against her because of her skin color and chose to believe the driver over them. Kerr claimed that after she vomited, the driver locked them in the taxi and drove erratically for 15-20 minutes. The driver told police that the two refused to pay the taxi fare and cleaning fee. At the direction of the police, the driver took them to Twickenham police station because he was concerned about their behavior.

In the police video, Mewis admitted to kicking out the taxi's rear window because she was scared and wanted to escape. Both stated that they were unaware of being taken to the police station. That night, police ultimately arrested Kerr for calling Officer Lovell "stupid and white" and for damaging the taxi, even though Mewis admitted to breaking the window. Forbes stated: "It is very strange that the police arrested Sam Kerr for damaging the taxi when Kristie Mewis had told them repeatedly that she broke the window."

Forbes argued that Kerr did not intentionally use the words to hurt the officer, but was trying to express her view of "power" and "privilege" at the time, and how those factors "influence perception." Criminal charges were dropped after Kerr and Mewis eventually paid for the damaged window, the taxi fare, and the cost of cleaning Kerr's vomit from the taxi. Officer Lovell told the court last week that he first saw Kerr climbing out of the taxi's broken window that night, but did not turn on his bodycam until nearly an hour later.

Grace Forbes stated that the jury did not need to decide exactly what happened in the taxi that night, nor did they have to judge the actions of the police, but she argued that it did affect Kerr's state of mind when she called Officer Lovell "stupid and white." Both women told the court that they felt their lives were in danger in the car at the time. Forbes said: "You may think that the fear they felt, whether real or unfounded, is highly relevant to what happened that night."

The prosecution repeatedly cited footage from the bodycam video in which Kerr threatened to call a lawyer as an example of her having power and privilege in the situation. The prosecution also argued that another clip showed her pointing her phone at Officer Lovell to flaunt her bank account. Kerr stated that she was showing him that she had called emergency services. Forbes dismissed the notion that Kerr had power at the police station, arguing that the officers were the ones in control of the situation that night.

Forbes stated: "Like a pufferfish puffing itself up when threatened to appear larger, that posture may hint at the genuine fear she felt inside. If she actually had a lawyer, she would have called them during that miserable hour in Twickenham police station. Beneath the bluster, the truth is sad... a woman sitting there, feeling utterly terrified inside... but putting on a brave face."

The prosecution argued that the two were drunk and "causing trouble" in the taxi, and that Kerr's comments violated the law because they were racially motivated. Forbes stated that "there is no doubt that the way Kerr expressed herself that night was not flattering," but that her client did not intend to cause Officer Lovell harassment, alarm, or distress. Forbes told the jury that the prosecution had to ask Officer Lovell five times in court how the words "stupid and white" made him feel, which she argued was telling.

Officer Lovell initially told the court that he felt "uneasy" about it, then referred to his second statement, in which he said he felt "humiliated," "shocked," and "degraded," adding that the words were "over the top and I took great offense to it." Forbes told the jury: "The effort it took to extract those words from Officer Lovell, you may think, seriously calls into question the credibility of the emotions expressed. If Officer Lovell himself is not sure, how can you be sure of the impact of those words?"

The prosecution stated last week that Officer Lovell had not "exaggerated" his statements, adding that his feelings were "perfectly reasonable." Forbes criticized the timeline leading up to the second statement, calling it "completely undermining" to the content of the statement. Officer Lovell did not mention in his first statement after the incident how the words "stupid and white" made him feel, which Forbes called an "extremely significant" omission. She said: "If he felt the impact he now claims to have felt, he would have said so in his statement that night."

He formally mentioned it in his second statement, submitted nearly 11 months after the incident. Previously, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) initially declined to charge Kerr, stating that it did not meet the criminal threshold. After the officer appealed the decision not to charge Kerr, the CPS requested that police provide more evidence of harassment, alarm, or distress. Forbes emphasized: "As he told you, this officer has written hundreds of witness statements. He knows perfectly well what the elements of the offense are. The Public Order Act is his bread and butter."

Officer Lovell admitted in court last week that he was determined to pursue Kerr and the charge through the criminal courts, but denied fabricating facts to make the charge stick. The 2023 Women's World Cup was also underway at the time, and Officer Lovell was considering appealing the decision not to charge Kerr, but he denied that Kerr was "on his radar."