Opinion: Sam Kerr’s behaviour was atrocious and police deserve better

Kerr acted like a spoilt brat, and although she was found not guilty, the men and women who keep us safe deserve better, writes Terry Goldsworthy.

This week saw the conclusion of the tawdry saga involving soccer star Sam Kerr that saw her on trial facing a charge of racially harassing a police officer.

The problems started after Kerr had vomited whilst in a cab after a drunken night out in January 2023.

At some stage, the driver saw fit to ring the police after becoming concerned by the behaviour of Kerr and her partner. He was directed to drive to a police station at Twickenham.

From there the interaction with police is recorded by bodycam so we have clear evidence of what happened between the police and Kerr.

Sam Kerr has lost a lot of fans after her carry on. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Kerr has admitted she was drunk on the night in question. During her interaction with the police Kerr repeatedly swore and shouted at the officers, who showed remarkable calm in the face of her ongoing tirade.

As someone who has walked the beat in Surfer Paradise on the Gold Coast, I can attest how difficult it is to deal with arrogant, entitled drunks.

The issue at the crux of the criminal charge against Kerr is when she called police “f**king stupid and white”. This insult was said on multiple occasions, it was not a one-off throw away comment. Kerr also called the police c**ts.

In her interaction with police Kerr herself early on declared “this is a f**king racial f**king thing”. In her evidence at court Kerr admitted that her comment did show hostility to the officer based on his whiteness.

In the footage Kerr is given the options of being criminally charged or paying for the cab to be cleaned, she opted for the first choice. That would now appear to be the biggest mistake of her career.

Sam Kerr leaves Kingston Crown Court in south London after being found not guilty of causing racially aggravated harassment. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

The jury needed to decide if the statements by Kerr were intentional harassment of the police officer, and did they cause him to feel alarm and distress by calling him stupid and white.

The jury also needed to be satisfied that the use of the words was in a manner that was racially aggravated. Kerr denied this was the case.

The jury found Kerr not guilty, not convinced she had racially harassed the officer.

However, this finding cannot hide her atrocious behaviour. Police deserve better treatment than this.

Kerr has now kicked the greatest own goal of her career. Despite claims from Kerr’s management, it is difficult to see how Kerr’s reputation has not been severely tarnished by this episode.

Former detective Terry Goldsworthy is an associate professor at Bond University

Originally published as Opinion: Sam Kerr’s behaviour was atrocious and police deserve better