:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/114094a2-8456-11eb-977f-0217670beecd.jpg "Police defend themselves after violence during Sarah Everard march | Abroad")
Photos are circulating on social media showing police restraining and handcuffing protesters after hundreds of people gathered to commemorate Sarah Everard. The vigil was actually banned due to corona. The police tried to dissolve the march.
But the police action was ‘unacceptable’, according to the Londsen mayor Sadiq Khan. “From images I’ve seen, it becomes clear that the response was inappropriate and disproportionate at times,” Khan wrote on Twitter.
One of the photos shows Patsy Stevenson lying on the ground and being handcuffed. “I was arrested by the police for just standing there. I didn’t do anything and they just threw me on the ground, ”she told Couterfire.
“Later, when I was in the police car, they told me I could go home with a fine. Then I don’t understand why they approach me like that. ” In the meantime, the woman has also called for protesting in front of the parliament building on Monday.
Kate Middleton
Interior Minister Priti Patel also called the images “disturbing.” In more or less the same wording, the leader of the opposition Labor party expressed himself. “This was not the way to monitor this protest,” said Keir Starmer. Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, advised Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to think twice about whether she wants to stay on. “And whether you can continue to trust the millions of women in London you must guard and protect?”
The recent murder of 33-year-old Everard, of whom an agent is suspected, has sparked a wave of anger and outrage over violence against women. Police had warned in advance that a memorial or protest meeting was against the corona measures. A vigil announced for Saturday at a memorial site for Everard in south London was canceled by the organizers.
But it didn’t stop people from paying tribute and drawing attention to women’s ongoing fear of sexual harassment and street assault. Kate Middleton, the wife of the British Prince William, also visited the memorial site during the day.
In the evening it was getting busier and the police intervened. Images show that it came to collisions between police and demonstrators. Some women have been ground to the ground by the police and some of them have been arrested. Police confirm that a total of four arrests have been made.
The organizers said in a statement that the London police refused to cooperate with them. “The police should have understood that women need a place to mourn, reflect and show solidarity. Now is the time for the police and government to recognize that the criminal justice system is failing women. Tonight it has failed women again, in the most destructive way. ”
Police response
Assistant Police Commissioner Helen Ball has responded to the criticism. “We have repeatedly asked those in attendance to obey the laws and to leave. Unfortunately, a small minority started chanting, pushing and throwing things at the officers. ”
“The police must act for the safety of the people, this is their responsibility. But the reason I am addressing you now is because we accept that the work of our agents is being questioned. We absolutely did not want to be in the position of maintaining order in this way. But that happened. We feel the need to protect people’s safety. ” Police actions will be evaluated, however.
Murder suspect
The vigil was held in the park that Everard walked through just before her disappearance. She disappeared on March 3 while on foot in her hometown of London. Earlier this week, her body was found and 48-year-old agent Wayne Couzens was arrested as the prime suspect. A 30-year-old woman, believed to be his wife, was arrested on suspicion of complicity.
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