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Key Points
- Sam Kerr was arrested for racially aggravated abuse of a police officer in January 2023.
- Kerr and her partner, Kristie Mewis, say they feared they were being kidnapped by a taxi driver after a dispute.
- Jurors saw video evidence of Kerr calling police officer Stephen Lovell “f—ing stupid and white” after the incident.
Sam Kerr’s has faced court as her trial for the alleged racial harassment of a police officer in the UK begins.
A night of celebration in early 2023 ended in Kerr and her partner Kristie Mewis crawling out of the broken back window of a taxi before being arrested for the alleged racial abuse of a London police officer.
Jurors watched footage from the night of the incident of the 31-year-old Kerr telling officers she and Mewis feared they were being kidnapped after the driver refused to let them out of his cab following an argument over compensation for vomit in the back of his vehicle.
Kerr was recorded twice calling police constable Stephen Lovell “f—ing stupid and white,” and insisting on going to court rather than pay for the window, leading to her being arrested.
The incident, which took place in the early hours of 30 January 2023, came after Kerr had been out celebrating with US international Mewis.
Both were described by police witnesses as “inebriated, emotional” and in a “distressed state”.
Grace Forbes, counsel for the Matildas skipper, told Kingston Crown Court there was no intention to “cause harassment, alarm or distress to Lovell”, and even if that charge was made, it was not racially aggravated. Kerr has pleaded not guilty.
“Samantha Kerr did not feel hostile to this officer because he is white. The words, however poorly expressed, were a comment on positions of power, privilege, and how things might colour perception,” she said.
The maximum penalty under UK law is 26 weeks in jail.
Kerr sat in the dock wearing as prosecutor Bill Hughes laid out the prosecution case, which included a video lasting about 30 minutes made up of body-worn-camera recordings from one of Lovell’s colleagues.
During it, Kerr and Mewis are seen arguing with Lovell and his colleagues and also crying as they explain they thought the driver was kidnapping them, which is why they were trying to break the window to escape.
In the video, Lovell says that while he understands their fears, they were hypothetical and “did not happen”, while the damage to the taxi “did happen”.
He offers them two options: pay the fare, the cleaning fee and money for the window damage, which totalled just under $2,000; or be arrested, charged with criminal damage, and state their case in court.
“I’ll take option two,” says Kerr, who a few moments earlier had said: “I’m not paying [for] some dodgy c—‘s window. I will sit here until four in the morning and get the Chelsea lawyers on this. I am not backing down.”
She then calls Lovell “f—ing stupid and white”.
Kerr is then placed under arrest for criminal damage and racially aggravated public order.
Kerr and Mewis subsequently paid for the damage and that element was dropped.
The trial, which is due to last four days, resumes on Tuesday with Kerr expected to give evidence.
