London police clash with citizens over slain woman

UK cops outlaw vigil for woman, whose killing has spurred a national debate, for defying COVID-19 curbs; their action has now come under scrutiny

Clashes broke out on Saturday between police and people who gathered in defiance of coronavirus restrictions at an unofficial vigil for a London woman whose killing has spurred a national conversation in the UK about violence against women.

The hundreds who gathered on Clapham Common, near where marketing executive Sarah Everard last was seen alive on March 3, defied a police request to disperse and a judge’s order to honour her and to draw attention to the fear and danger many women see as a daily part of British life.

Everard disappeared while walking home from a friend’s apartment and was found dead a week later. The slaying sent shockwaves across the U.K. because a police officer is charged with her kidnapping and murder.

Video of the informal vigil turned rally showed officers tussling with participants. Male officers grabbed hold of several women and led them away in handcuffs to screaming and shouting from onlookers, Britain’s Press Association reported.

On Sunday, London’s Metropolitan Police was under heavy pressure to explain its actions, with Home Secretary Priti Patel calling the scenes “upsetting”. The capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, said the police response was “at times neither appropriate nor proportionate”. 

The gathering happened hours after Metropolitan Police constable Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared in court for the first time since his arrest in Everard’s death.

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4,61,105
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

11,96,87,850
Total no. of cases worldwide

26,50,784
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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