Sam Kerr felt she was treated differently by police because of skin colour, court hears
Sam Kerr said she felt she was treated differently by police officers based on “what they perceived to be the colour of my skin”, a court heard on Wednesday.
The Chelsea striker is charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell by calling him “stupid and white” during an incident inside a police station on January 30, 2023.
That followed a night out Kerr had been on with her partner, Kristie Mewis, the U.S. Women’s National Team and West Ham United player.
At the end of the evening, they hailed a black cab and headed home. The taxi driver ended up calling the police to complain they had smashed the rear window and so instead of taking them home, drove them to Twickenham police station.
It was once inside the police station that Kerr allegedly became abusive and referenced PC Lovell’s race. She said, “You guys are f******* stupid and white”, followed by “honestly, you guys are f******* stupid and white.
“I’m looking you in the eyes, you guys are f******* stupid. I’m f****** over this s***.”
Kerr does not deny what she said but has pleaded not guilty to one count of racially aggravated harassment.
Kerr’s lawyer, Grace Forbes, said the comment, however poorly expressed, was about positions of power, privilege and how those things might affect perception.
Giving evidence in court on day three of the trial, Kerr said she had been on a date night with Mewis at their favourite restaurant, Amazonico in Mayfair, before joining friends for cocktails and then finally going on to a nightclub, where they stayed for just 15 minutes as it was a “bit of a dungeon”.
After failing three times to locate an Uber, they hailed a black cab on Oxford Street.
Once inside the taxi, Kerr said she started feeling sick and put the window down to try to get some fresh air. However, the driver then put it up, she said.
She told how the atmosphere became “very scary” and the taxi driver’s driving became “very dangerous” as he swerved in and out of lanes.
Kerr, who was repeatedly told to speak louder by the judge, said his “erratic” driving continued like that for 15 to 20 minutes.
“I was terrified for my life,” she told the court.
“He had the power over us, we were not in control at all,” she added.
Kerr also told how she had thoughts of Sarah Everard — the 33-year-old woman who was abducted by a police officer in Clapham, London before being raped and murdered — while “trapped” in the taxi.
Kerr also explained how the story of the Claremont serial killer in Australia — who she said “was thought to have been a taxi driver” — made her feel frightened.
She said Mewis eventually smashed a window in the taxi with her boot.
The court heard how Kerr made contact with the emergency services at 2.21am by holding down the two buttons on the side of her phone.
She was not aware the taxi driver had also made contact with the police himself.
After arriving at Twickenham police station, Kerr exited via the smashed window at the back of the taxi.
At the station, she initially felt relieved but told how that turned to fear again when the officers did not believe her version of events.
“(We had) come from one dangerous stranger to not being believed by three men that were strangers,” she told the court.
She added, “I felt like I was powerless and they had all the power in that moment.”
Asked how she felt seeing back the footage from inside the station, Kerr replied, “It’s hard to watch. I don’t normally act like that so I am quite embarrassed to watch that back. It’s hard to watch, not just because of the way I was acting, but to watch yourself in that much distress.”
The court heard how Kerr had told police, “This is a racial f****** thing”. When asked about those comments, Kerr said, “I believed they were treating me differently because of what they perceived to be the colour of my skin.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the court heard how Kerr identifies as white Anglo-Indian and that her father, Roger, is Anglo-Indian. Kerr said she was around nine or 10 years old when she first witnessed racism directed at members of her family.
Kerr said she had experiences of racism in both Australia and the UK, where she moved in 2019 after signing for Chelsea.
In court, Miss Forbes told how PC Lovell was alleged to have said, “Do you think a taxi driver, who is going to rape and kill you, would take you to a police station?”
To that, Kerr responded, “You’re sick.”
When asked why she said that, Kerr replied, “I thought he was making light of what had happened to us. I thought it was an antagonising comment.”
Questioned by Miss Forbes about why she used the words “white” and “privileged” after her exchange with PC Lovell, Kerr replied, “It was clear to me he had no idea about the power and privilege he had at that moment or in life because the way he commented on what the driver could have done to me showed he has never experienced that or ever had to think about what can happen to you as a female.”
Kerr said she did not intend to cause harassment, alarm or distress to PC Lovell and was “absolutely not” hostile towards him because he was a white person.
Also on Wednesday, Kerr alleged that PC Ryan Skinner, who was leading the investigation, told her, “I’m glad you didn’t come with the big lawyer team you said you would” when she voluntarily attended the station the evening after her arrest. PC Skinner has denied saying that.
Cross-examined by Bill Emlyn Jones KC, the prosecuting lawyer, Kerr replied “no” when asked whether drunkenness had affected her perception of what happened in the taxi.
She said she still believed the taxi driver was trying to kidnap her and Mewis.
On Tuesday, PC Lovell, a police officer for 11 years, was cross-examined by Miss Forbes.
She told the court how the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had not initially supported a charge when first presented with the evidence, which included PC Lovell’s first statement from January 30, 2023. At that point, the officer was told the outcome would be limited to an apology.
However, on October 17, 2023, the police asked the CPS to review the decision. This resulted in PC Lovell submitting a second statement on December 5. A week later, the CPS authorised the police to charge Kerr.
“The CPS identified that there was no evidence of harassment, alarm or distress being caused,” Miss Forbes told the court on Tuesday. “(I am) going to suggest you are claiming to have experienced this impact purely to get a criminal charge over the line.”
PC Lovell denied this. He said Kerr’s comments made him feel “shocked, upset and humiliated”.
Asked specifically about the impact of the comments regarding race, he replied, “They were too far and I took great offence to them.”
The court heard on Tuesday how another police officer, Shane Scott, who was also allegedly subjected to the comments, did not take offence to them.
It was also revealed Kerr had paid £900 for the damage to the taxi.
Kerr’s parents, Roger and Roxanne, as well as her brother Levi, were present in court again on Wednesday, as they have been every day of the trial.
Kerr, who was dressed on Wednesday in a white shirt, is one of the sport’s biggest stars.
The Matildas captain has enjoyed tremendous success at Chelsea since joining in 2019. She has won multiple trophies and scored 99 goals in 128 matches.
She is currently recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury she sustained at a warm-weather training camp in Morocco in January last year.
The trial continues.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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