London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Sunday ordered investigations into how the Metropolitan Police handled a peaceful vigil for Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman whose kidnapping and murder — allegedly at the hands of a police officer — has left the UK reeling.
Images of police officers forcefully disrupting Saturday night’s emotional vigil and arresting women prompted an outcry, including calls for the head of police, Cressida Dick, to resign. Thousands had gathered at a memorial for Everard in London to pay their tributes and raise their voices to end violence against women, before being swarmed by police.
Khan called the scenes at Clapham Common, a public park in south London, “completely unacceptable” and said the police response was “neither appropriate nor proportionate.”
It comes as questions have also arisen about how Metropolitan Police handled an allegation of previous misconduct by a police officer who is accused of kidnapping and killing Everard.
“The @metpoliceuk must begin to rebuild relations with women who have lost trust and are hurting,” local group Reclaim These Streets, which has been involved in planning vigils, said in a tweet.
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Metropolitan police officers arrest a woman at a vigil for Sarah Everard in London on Saturday, March 13.
Four people were arrested at the London vigil, which Metropolitan Police said was not sanctioned due to restrictions on gatherings because of COVID-19.
In a statement Sunday, police said that a “small minority of people” at the vigil refused to comply with repeated demands to leave and began “chanting at officers” and throwing items.
Everard, a marketing executive, disappeared on March 3 after leaving her friend’s house in Clapham Common sometime after 9 p.m. to walk to her home in Brixton. Her remains were found last week in a woodland area in Kent, about 60 miles from London.
Her family remembered her as a kind and thoughtful daughter and sister.
“She always put others first and had the most amazing sense of humor,” her family said in a statement.
Wayne Couzens, a police constable, has been charged with kidnapping and murdering her. The 48-year-old joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 2018 and his primary duty was to patrol diplomatic premises, mainly embassies.
Three days before Everard went missing, Couzens was reported for allegedly exposing himself at a fast food restaurant in London, the BBC reported. The Metropolitan Police is also being investigated over whether officers responded appropriately to this incident.
Over the last two weeks, Everard’s disappearance and death have ignited a national conversation about women’s safety. Thousands of women have shared their own experiences of feeling unsafe in public places, especially while walking alone at night.
Metropolitan Police
An image of Everard captured on a surveillance camera the night she went missing.
Because of the pandemic restrictions, organizers had canceled Saturday night’s vigil at the Clapham Common memorial after police urged people to find a “lawful and safer way to express your views.”
Still, hundreds of people visited the memorial to lay flowers in emotional tributes to Everard. Among them was Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton).
Hollie Adams / Getty Images, Daniel Leal-olivas / Getty Images
People pay tributes at the memorial site for Sarah Everard in Clapham Common in London on March 14, 2021.
As evening approached, thousands gathered at the memorial with signs to end violence against women and to defund the police. Some began giving speeches from the bandstand.
“At this point, officers on the ground were faced with a very difficult decision,” Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said in a statement. “Hundreds of people were packed tightly together, posing a very real risk of easily transmitting Covid-19. Police must act for people’s safety, this is the only responsible thing to do.”
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Hundreds of people gathered at a peaceful vigil for Sarah Everard on Clapham Common in South London.
Videos from the scene showed police aggressively clashing with people at the memorial.
Unnecessary heavy police presence at #SarahEverard vigil.
Tensions are high because #Sarah was allegedly murdered by a metropolitan police officer so you would think they would handle this vigil with some sensitivity.
#notallmenbutallwomen
Twitter: @AhmedKaballo
Kristian Buus / Getty Images
Officers arrest a woman at the vigil for Sarah Everard in London on March 13.
Many people online, including lawmakers, have accused authorities of exacerbating the nationwide anger and grief over Everard’s death and called for the police commissioner’s resignation.
Cressida Dick has lost the confidence of the millions of women in London and should resign.
The scenes this evening of the policing of the Clapham Common vigil in memory of Sarah Everard are utterly disgraceful and shame the Metropolitan Police.
Twitter: @EdwardJDavey
The scenes are Clapham Common are unconscionable. The Metropolitan Police’s leadership has seriously misjudged this, and has exacerbated a lack of trust that has been created by Sarah’s killing. There needed to be a moment for her and other victims.
Twitter: @OliverCooper
The scenes in Clapham this evening are deeply disturbing. Women came together to mourn Sarah Everard – they should have been able to do so peacefully.
I share their anger and upset at how this has been handled. This was not the way to police this protest.
Twitter: @Keir_Starmer
This is what the Sarah Everard vigil looked like before tens of Met Police moved in, disrupted the mourners and proceeded to arrest women off the bandstand. Shameful
Twitter: @misszing
Home Secretary Priti Patel said she has requested a full report on what happened, calling the footage from the vigil “upsetting.”
Some of the footage circulating online from the vigil in Clapham is upsetting. I have asked the Metropolitan Police for a full report on what happened.
My thoughts remain with Sarah’s family and friends at this terrible time.
Twitter: @pritipatel
As of Sunday, Dick, the head of Metropolitan Police, continued to defend the decisions made by her department.
“I understand why so many people wanted to come by and pay their respects and make a statement about this,” she said at a press conference. “Indeed if it had been lawful, I’d have been at the vigil.”
She emphasized that she believed officers acted correctly in breaking up the gathering.
“Unfortunately later on, we had a really big crowd that gathered, lots of speeches, and quite rightly, as far I can see, my team felt this is now an unlawful gathering which poses a considerable risk to people’s health, according to regulations.”