The British government is calling for an investigation after police clashed Saturday night with a vigil held in memory of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman who disappeared earlier this month and was allegedly murdered by a police officer of the same police force. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Sunday she is “more determined” than ever to lead the organization and said she is 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 closed the vigil on coronavirus restrictions.
Patel said “some of the images circulating online since Clapham’s eve are disturbing” and said he had asked the Metropolitan Police for a “full report on what happened” on the eve.
Patel added that he will ask the police watchdog, His Majesty’s Constabulary Inspectorate, a government body that assesses police forces, to examine the issue, according to BBC News.
In a statement, Khan echoed his call, saying that “the scenes arising from the surveillance surveillance were completely unacceptable.” He added that he had spoken to the commissioner and deputy commissioner at City Hall on Sunday to tell them what happened, saying he was “not satisfied with the explanation they have provided”.
Khan said he had also asked the Constabulary Inspectorate for a full investigation into what happened and that he also asked the Independent Police Conduct Office to investigate the officers ’actions on the eve.
Dick, the first female commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said she agreed on the need for a “sober review” and defended how officers responded to the “large crowd”, BBC News reported.
Everard, a marketing executive, 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’s diplomatic protection command, had been charged with kidnapping and murder.
The planned official vigil in Clapham Common, near where Everard was last seen alive, was called off Saturday before a judge ruled that “attending a large rally could be illegal” because of the coronavirus guidelines.
The villains 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 honor of Everard’s life, including Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who Sky News reported made an unofficial visit.
But on Saturday evening, several hundred bad guys gathered anyway. Women from all walks of life joined the event which became an act of solidarity, demanding the protection of male violence.
Local agents encouraged attendees to leave and the vast majority of people did so quickly, according to Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Helen Ball.
“Unfortunately, a small minority of people started singing to the agents, pushing and throwing items,” he said.
The vigil resulted in four arrests, according to police, for public order crimes and non-compliance with health regulations.
Officers’ tactics have been questioned and criticized by activists and lawmakers across the political spectrum since videos and images of women trapped and forcibly removed went viral online.
Referring to the police officer accused of Everard’s murder, attendees shouted, “Arrest yours!” “Police, come home!”
In a statement Sunday morning, Ball said field officers “absolutely did not want to be in a position where enforcement action was needed,” but “placed themselves in that position because of the urgent need to protect the security of the pandemic is not over and meetings of people all over London and beyond are still unsafe, “adding” We accept that the actions of our officers have been questioned. “
Khan said he had received “guarantees” last week from the Met that the vigil would be “noticeably monitored”.
“In my opinion, it wasn’t like that.” Khan said.
Many, including Liberal Democrat leaders, have called for Dick to do so resign of his place by the conduct of his officers. Dick called it “a furiously difficult police force” and said he did not believe that “anyone who was not involved in the operation could pass a detailed comment on justice and error.”
In a video posted on Twitter, Patsy Stevenson, the woman who was arrested by officers, urged the public to put aside the police narrative and return to what happened to Everard, calling on the public to show their support in London’s Parliament Square. Monday.
HANNAH MCKAY / REUTERS
Everard’s death has sparked a national outpouring of fury and rekindled a national debate in Britain over women’s safety and sexual assault.
“I am shocked and dismayed by the Met’s news of Sarah Everard, and I believe the whole country will be united in this sentiment by her friends, her family and we will share her shock and grief,” said British. Minister Boris Johnson. “Every woman should feel able to walk our streets safely.”