London cop in slay rap
Protesters’ tears & fears
Londoners gathered Saturday to grieve for a young woman whose disappearance and murder was made still more shocking when a city cop was accused of killing her.
Sarah Everard, 33, was last seen alive walking home from a friend’s apartment at around 9 p.m. on March 3.
A week later, remains were found inside a bag left in a wooded area in Kent, and were matched to Everard through dental records, authorities said.
They revealed on Thursday that a London police officer, Wayne Couzens, had been charged with kidnapping and killing Everard.
Couzens, 48, an officer since 2018, was silent during his first appearance in court Saturday, with the exception of confirming his identity.
He had a visible head wound after being found with injuries in his cell Wednesday.
His lawyer did not enter a plea ahead of another hearing slated for Tuesday.
Everard’s death has sparked an outcry from women who say they don’t feel safe on London’s streets.
Mourners gathered at Clapham Common, a park authorities believe Everard walked through the night she disappeared. The park’s bandstand has become a memorial site, filled with flowers, cards, candles and tributes.
Earlier in the day, Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton joined the vigil and laid flowers at the bandstand.
“The duchess wanted to pay her respects to Sarah and her family,” Kensington Palace said in a statement. “She remembers what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married.”
Carrying signs reading “We will not be silenced” and “She was just walking home,” a crowd of about 1,000 people defied a pandemic ban on crowds, sparking clashes with police.
Officers at first looked on as a mostly female crowd banged drums and chanted, “Sisters, united, we'll never be defeated.”
The crowd booed as officers moved in to shutdown the tribute, chanting, “Let us be!” and “Police go home!” Some spewed profanities at cops who dragged protesters away.
“This could have been the socially distanced vigil the community needed to remember Sarah and all the women who have lost their lives to violence,” tweeted Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a member of Parliament who attended the event and shared video of the confrontations online. “We knew what was going to happen if the event was shut down.”
Organizers from a group called Reclaim the Streets were denied a permit for the event because of coronavirus restrictions. They said they were threatened with a fine equal to about $140,000 if they held the vigil.