SARAH VIGIL DEMO: COPS IN THE CLEAR
POLICE UNION HITS OUT AT THE ‘ARMCHAIR CRITICS’
POLICE behaved ‘ sensitively’ while breaking up a vigil honouring tragic Sarah Everard, an independent watchdog has concluded.
Metropolitan Police chief Dame Cressida Dick faced calls to resign after officers dragged women to the ground and handcuffed them during the event on Clapham Common, south London, on March 13.
But the report found the response was ‘measured and proportionate’ in ‘challenging circumstances’.
As protesters marched on Bristol’s Bridewell police station at a Kill The Bill demo last night, the Police Federation slammed ‘armchair critics on their
Saturday sofas’ and called for an apology from politicians who had criticised the response in Clapham.
The vigil was organised by women’s group Reclaim These Streets near the site where Ms Everard, 33, was walking when she went missing on March 3.
They called it off after police warned it would be illegal under emergency coronavirus laws but more than 5,000 people arrived to lay flowers and take part in a minute’s silence at 6pm.
Four arrests were made as police moved in ordering people home and stopping speeches from the bandstand.
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary said: ‘Condemnation of the Met’s actions within mere hours of the vigil – including from people in positions of responsibility – was unwarranted and showed a lack of respect for public servants facing a complex situation.’
However, it found police chiefs were unaware of the arrival of the Duchess of Cambridge to lay flowers until they saw her on Sky News. There was also too little communication between officers and the coverage was ‘a public relations disaster’ for the force.
‘We heard the Metropolitan Police’s response to events described as tone deaf; we acknowledge that a more conciliatory response might have served the force’s interests better,’ it added.
The chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Thomas Winsor, said officers relied on public support and had worked ‘in the face of severe provocation’.
But protester Patsy Stevenson, who was pushed to the ground and handcuffed, retweeted Black Protest Legal Support UK’s condemnation of the report that said it ‘entirely contradicts what our independent legal observers saw on the ground’.
Reclaim These Streets organiser Jamie Klingler, 42, said: ‘The vigil was about violence against women at the hands of men, and what did we see? Violence against women at the hands of men.’
PC Wayne Couzens is charged with Ms Everard’s kidnap and murder. He has been remanded to appear at the Old Bailey on July 9.
The protesters in Bristol carried a ‘how many broken bones?’ banner after police backtracked over the extent of injuries suffered by officers at previous demos. They oppose the new policing bill that limits rights to protest.