‘Tried to put it on me’: Sam Kerr’s bombshell statement in police trial
Sam Kerr has made a bombshell statement while giving evidence in her UK trial while defending a charge of racially-aggravated harrassment.
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Matildas star Sam Kerr told a court she was treated differently by police “because of the colour of my skin” after “fearing for my life” following an incident with a taxi driver.
The Australia captain, who is of mixed race, is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to police officer Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
It is alleged Kerr, 31, and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been out drinking when they were driven to Twickenham police station by a taxi driver, who complained the pair had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, and that one of them also smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
The court was told on Tuesday that Kerr had become “abusive and insulting” towards Lovell, calling him “stupid and white”.
But Kerr, giving evidence on Wednesday, said: “I believed (officers) were treating me differently because of what they perceived to be the colour of my skin - particularly PC Lovell’s behaviour.”
“The way he was accusing me of lying, and later arresting me for criminal damage even though Kristie said it was just her (who smashed the taxi’s window). At the time I thought they were trying to put it on me.”
Earlier on Wednesday (UK time) Kerr casually revealed the sex of her yet-to-be-born child and when she and fiancee Kristie Mewis plan to wed.
The Chelsea footballer also told the court she “feared for her life” when a taxi driver drove her and Mewis to a police station after allegations one of the couple smashed the car’s rear window after a drunken night out.
The couple had been celebrating prior to the incident and grabbed a cab to go home.
Kerr told a jury at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court on Wednesday that she had put her head out of the window when she began to feel sick before the driver “rolled it up” and began to “drive dangerously”.
She said the alleged dangerous driving continued for 15 to 20 minutes.
“I was terrified for my life. Everything was going through my mind about being in a car with a stranger I deemed to be dangerous. There was no reasoning with him. It was his way or nothing.
“Kristie asked him to stop the car but there was no change to his driving. We had no idea where we were.
“Kristie was very distressed. She was crying and scared. I’ve never seen her like that before and it made me more scared,” Kerr said on the stand.
You can listen to audio of Kerr’s emergency call from the back of the taxi in the video at the top of the page
“I started to realise how serious the situation was. It put me in protective mode … he had the power over us … I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving, but also because he could have taken us anywhere.”
Kerr said the pair tried to open the doors and windows several times, but they remained locked.
Fellow footballer Mewis, who plays for London side West Ham, eventually “kicked out (the window) with her boot,” which led Kerr to feel “relieved”, but she added: “We didn’t get out straight away as the car was still moving”.
On Tuesday, the court was told Officer Lovell first saw Kerr as she crawled through the smashed taxi window outside the station.
A “heated” discussion about the incident ensued between Kerr and the police, during which she allegedly became “abusive and insulting” towards Lovell.
Bodycam footage was shown in court of Kerr calling a police officer “f***ing stupid and white” during her arrest at a police station.
A prosecutor also told the court Kerr at one point showed Lovell the contents of her bank account “as if to say ‘look, I could easily afford to pay for any damage to the taxi’.”
Baby, wedding news
During her time on the stand, Kerr also dropped a baby bombshell.
Last month, on social media, Kerr revealed that she and Mewis were set to be new mums. She posted an image showing Mewis with a noticeable baby bump declaring she was “26 weeks and glowing”.
But the sex of the baby wasn’t known. She set that straight in court.
“We are expecting a baby boy,” she told the jury after being asked about her relationship.
Mewis is due in May.
Kerr also said she and Mewis would wed in December. They became engaged in 2023.
The pair met in 2019 after Kerr had been in London for six months. She said she “slid into Mewis’ DMs (direct messages)”.
Kerr made her debut for current Women’s Super League champions Chelsea in 2020. She is currently out of action with a knee injury.
Could Sam Kerr face jail time?
Kerr has pleaded not guilty to the offence of racially aggravated harassment to a police officer.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of 26 weeks in jail under UK law.
The offence also includes a maximum financial penalty of around $500 (£2500).
The damage to her reputation would be much more significant.Kerr is Australia’s highest paid female footballer and earned $3.3 million in 2023.
Will Sam Kerr remain captain of the Matildas?
Football Australia has refused to guarantee Kerr will remain captain of the national team.
Interim coach Tom Sermanni said on Tuesday it would be “unwise” for him to comment on Kerr’s future while there remains no outcome in the ongoing trial.
Football Australia boss James Johnson also asked for fans to wait until the end of the trial before making their own judgments.
“We understand that there will be some disappointment out there (from fans), but what we would ask is that we all wait out,” Johnson said on Wednesday.
“We know there’s a 30-second, 40-second clip out there but we also know there’s a 30-minute video out there which certainly we haven’t seen.
“What we need to do we need to give Sam the opportunity to go through the trial.
“Once we complete the trial, then we’ll have a holistic view of what’s happened.”
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