Londoners protest after police officer charged with woman's murder

[rooster59]

Londoners protest after police officer charged with woman's murder

By David Milliken, Natalie Thomas

LONDON (Reuters) - Police in London clashed with mourners and protesters on Saturday after more than a thousand people gathered to mark the killing of a 33-year-old woman, hours after the police officer charged with her murder appeared in court.

Sarah Everard’s disappearance as she walked home on the evening of March 3 had led to a wave of accounts from women about the dangers of walking streets alone at night, and dismay at the failure of police and wider society to tackle this.

Early on Saturday an impromptu memorial with flowers and candles sprang up around the bandstand on Clapham Common in southwest London, near where Everard was last seen alive.

Kate, Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge, was among those who paid their respects. A palace official said Kate “remembers what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married”.

By late Saturday around a thousand people - mostly women - gathered at the site to pay their respects and protest at the lack of security they felt when out alone. Some chanted “shame on you” at police who were present.

Campaign groups had wanted to organise a formal vigil, but London’s Metropolitan Police said people should not gather due to coronavirus restrictions. The head of the force, Cressida Dick, said any vigil “would be unlawful and would be unsafe”.

As tensions mounted, Reuters witnesses saw police drag several women away from the gathering on Clapham Common.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said four people were arrested for public order offences and breaches of the Health Protection Regulations.

“We absolutely did not want to be in a position where enforcement action was necessary,” Ball said in a statement. “But we were placed in this position because of the overriding need to protect people’s safety.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan - who is responsible for policing in the city - said the officers’ response “was at times neither appropriate or proportionate” and added that he was seeking an urgent explanation from Dick.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer called the scenes “deeply disturbing” and Conservative interior minister Priti Patel said she too wanted answers from police about “upsetting” images.

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he and his partner Carrie Symonds would light a candle in memory of Everard.

“I will do everything I can to make sure the streets are safe and ensure women and girls do not face harassment or abuse,” he said.

Appearing at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning, 48-year-old police officer Wayne Couzens, wearing a grey tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his identity.

Couzens’s lawyer did not enter a plea to the charges of kidnap and murder ahead of a fuller court hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Couzens remains in custody.

Police discovered Everard’s body on Wednesday in woodland about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of London. The court heard that her body was found in a builder’s refuse bag, and was identified using dental records.

Couzens joined the Metropolitan Police in 2018 and guarded foreign embassies before his arrest.

England’s police watchdog has launched an investigation into the Metropolitan Police’s handling of the case.

Additional reporting by Will Russell and Dylan Martinez; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Edmund Blair and Daniel Wallis

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-14

 

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[OJAS]

20 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

“We absolutely did not want to be in a position where enforcement action was necessary,” Ball said in a statement. “But we were placed in this position because of the overriding need to protect people’s safety.”

“But we were placed in this position because of the overriding need to protect people’s safety our back sides.”

[Chomper Higgot]

Plod demonstrates how to make a bad situation worse.

One of their own murders a woman and they respond by bludgeoning and arresting women who peacefully protest the killing.

Utterly disgraceful.

 

 

[sanuk711]

So a police constable murdered and chopped up Sarah Everard then.

It's Definitely  P.C gone mad I tell you.........................????

[Tropicalevo]

28 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Plod demonstrates how to make a bad situation worse.

One of their own murders a woman and they respond by bludgeoning and arresting women who peacefully protest the killing.

Utterly disgraceful.

 

 

I have not seen any report about the police 'bludgeoning' anyone.

It was an illegal gathering. The woke and indignant Karen brigade said to themselves. S0d you, we are going to protest - even if we have been warned not to, and it is against the law. The official organisers cancelled the event after they were told that they would each receive a 10,000 GBP fine if it went ahead.

People complain when the police do not stop lawbreakers and then they complain when they do.

What happened to Ms Everard is a sad tragedy and I hope that they hang the man who did it, but during a lockdown, when there is a killer virus around, is not the time to have mass meetings.

The demonstration did not have to happen yesterday. It could have waited and have been better organised/controlled.

[OJAS]

43 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

The demonstration did not have to happen yesterday. It could have waited and have been better organised/controlled.

"Reclaim These Streets, the group that originally organised a vigil on Clapham Common but later cancelled it, said it had done so because police did not "constructively engage" with plans to hold it in a Covid-secure way."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56389824

 

[4737 Carlin]

Protesting and ignoring covid rules is only allowed if a man is killed in another country. The police will even get down on their knees for you.

[TKDfella]

Well, the Baroness Jones  has suggested a curfew for men after 6 pm as a remedy (various news outlets...just type curfew for men in the search engine) for addressing the issues which I think is just as practical as telling women to stay indoors after 6 pm. Obviously not a good idea. Murderous villains have always been around and I don't think it will change. People should feel free to walk the streets safely at night but (having come from the East End of London) they weren't in the 1950's. At the moment there is no one answer to such horrific crimes.

[pacovl46]

Yelling shame on you at the cops who had nothing to do with the murder whatsoever ist just silly and rude! 

[Surelynot]

It did seem a strange approach taken by the police...........easy for me to say, but I would have had police on hand....stood well back and let the whole thing fizzle out of its own accord.......it was not like they were a 1000 plus drunken Rangers fans going wild......

[roo860]

1 hour ago, pacovl46 said:

Yelling shame on you at the cops who had nothing to do with the murder whatsoever ist just silly and rude! 

No doubt Rent a Mob turned up, bloody idiots.

[kingdong]

7 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Plod demonstrates how to make a bad situation worse.

One of their own murders a woman and they respond by bludgeoning and arresting women who peacefully protest the killing.

Utterly disgraceful.

 

 

In every post you,ve found this " policeman " guilty of murder,so do you  feel we should dispense wth the british justice system? Whats the alternative,peoples courts and death squads? A young woman was murdered very sad however i find this mob hysteria more disturbing.

Edited March 14, 2021 by kingdong

[7by7]

7 hours ago, sanuk711 said:

So a police constable murdered and chopped up Sarah Everard then.

It's Definitely  P.C gone mad I tell you.........................????

You find the murder and mutilation of a young woman a suitable subject for jokes?

Shame on you.

[kingdong]

1 minute ago, roo860 said:

No doubt Rent a Mob turned up, bloody idiots.

Yeah who probably were protesting about gun ownership in the uk folowing dunblaine and got pistols banned in the uk ( apart from northern ireland ) well guess what girls,they,re never going to come back,pepper sprays and stunguns are sect 5 firearns,so looks like you,re going to have to rely on the police for protection.

[kingdong]

4 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

You find the murder and mutilation of a young woman a suitable subject for jokes?

Shame on you.

I find the aftermath of this sad event a joke.

[sherwood]

17 minutes ago, kingdong said:

Yeah who probably were protesting about gun ownership in the uk folowing dunblaine and got pistols banned in the uk ( apart from northern ireland ) well guess what girls,they,re never going to come back,pepper sprays and stunguns are sect 5 firearns,so looks like you,re going to have to rely on the police for protection.

Police are not in the business of protection. Their roll in modern society is solely revenue collection.

I do not blame the Police force for this act only the individual. The girls can protest all they like but nutters will be nutters  so if you are worried, stay home or carry a big stick.

Sorry if that sounds like I do not care but truth be known, I could care less. A very nasty world is out there just waiting. 

[kingdong]

10 minutes ago, sherwood said:

Police are not in the business of protection. Their roll in modern society is solely revenue collection.

I do not blame the Police force for this act only the individual. The girls can protest all they like but nutters will be nutters  so if you are worried, stay home or carry a big stick.

Sorry if that sounds like I do not care but truth be known, I could care less. A very nasty world is out there just waiting. 

Carrying a big stick in public for self protection is a criminal offence.and you will be prosecuted,best not chance it and stay in.

Edited March 14, 2021 by kingdong

[kingdong]

2 hours ago, Surelynot said:

It did seem a strange approach taken by the police...........easy for me to say, but I would have had police on hand....stood well back and let the whole thing fizzle out of its own accord.......it was not like they were a 1000 plus drunken Rangers fans going wild......

And had the mobs actions caused a third wave of corona and resultant travel and lockdown occuring,that would have been wrong too.

[sherwood]

4 minutes ago, kingdong said:

Carrying a big stick in public for self protection is a criminal offence.and you will be prosecuted,best not chance it and stay in.

Well if anyone asks, just call it a walking stick or even a pool cue.

I understand your comment 

[kingdong]

3 minutes ago, sherwood said:

Well if anyone asks, just call it a walking stick or even a pool cue.

I understand your comment 

Or better still quote the right of self defence enshrined in british common law like tony martin the norfolk farmer did and see how far you get

[JonnyF]

I blame the organisers. A few BLM tshirts could have prevented the whole issue.

Police would have taken the knee and the gathering could have continued unabated.

Unfortunately for those arrested the victim was white and crowd was primarily white women. I believe the left call them Karens. So no Politically correct pandering was required from the police on this occasion. Just handcuffs and headlocks.

 

[sherwood]

5 minutes ago, kingdong said:

Or better still quote the right of self defence enshrined in british common law like tony martin the norfolk farmer did and see how far you get

Sorry fella I do not have all the answers. I used to carry a Glock 17 under my car seat here in Thailand until I realised I would use it if pushed so I sold it back to the cop who sold it to me.

My point is you can not rely on the Police to protect you, never going to happen, not for your average citizen. Enough said, the cop in question was a scumbag. I do not blame the force as they are just incompetent.

[Surelynot]

52 minutes ago, kingdong said:

And had the mobs actions caused a third wave of corona and resultant travel and lockdown occuring,that would have been wrong too.

Rubbish.

[OswaldBastable]

1 hour ago, 7by7 said:

You find the murder and mutilation of a young woman a suitable subject for jokes?

Shame on you.

Do you have a link to your mutilated body claim? I can't find that detail  anywhere.

[Surelynot]

3 minutes ago, OswaldBastable said:

Do you have a link to your mutilated body claim? I can't find that detail  anywhere.

She could only be identified by reference to dental records.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

I blame the organisers. A few BLM tshirts could have prevented the whole issue.

Police would have taken the knee and the gathering could have continued unabated.

Unfortunately for those arrested the victim was white and crowd was primarily white women. I believe the left call them Karens. So no Politically correct pandering was required from the police on this occasion. Just handcuffs and headlocks.

 

Triggered nonsense.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, kingdong said:

Or better still quote the right of self defence enshrined in british common law like tony martin the norfolk farmer did and see how far you get

But don’t quite the right to demonstrate, peaceful assembly or free speech.

[kingdong]

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

But don’t quite the right to demonstrate, peaceful assembly or free speech.

Peacefull assembly?you having a laugh? It was breaking the law,bought in regarding corona,and it didn,t look at all peacefull,if they wanted to act like men then expect to be treated like men.

[kingdong]

5 hours ago, sherwood said:

Sorry fella I do not have all the answers. I used to carry a Glock 17 under my car seat here in Thailand until I realised I would use it if pushed so I sold it back to the cop who sold it to me.

My point is you can not rely on the Police to protect you, never going to happen, not for your average citizen. Enough said, the cop in question was a scumbag. I do not blame the force as they are just incompetent.

The police are prevented from doing their job by the forces of political correctness and are too scared to uphold the law,you,ve only got to look at some of the comments on here to see what they,re up against.i used to own a glock 17 9 mm good gun light and with mag extensions 18 round capacity,wish i still had it today,is a farang allowed to own a licensed handgun in thailand legally?

[Salerno]

18 minutes ago, kingdong said:

is a farang allowed to own a licensed handgun in thailand legally?

No.