Sam Kerr’s lawyers request police station CCTV footage, interview be retained

London: Matildas captain Sam Kerr’s legal team has requested security footage from a London police station last year to be secured to help build her defence against a charge of racially aggravated harassment of a UK police officer.

Kerr, one of the world’s most recognisable female footballers and a sporting idol in Australia, has pleaded not guilty to the public disorder charge of using insulting, threatening or abusive words that caused alarm or distress towards a police officer in south-west London on January 30, 2023.

Australian football star Sam Kerr is fighting to have a charge of racially harassing the police officer thrown out of court.Credit: Getty Images

The charge, which could carry jail time, occurred after an early morning dispute over a taxi fare when Kerr is alleged to have unleashed the slur as police arrived. She was not officially charged until six weeks ago.

The star Chelsea striker’s barrister has asked Crown prosecutors to ensure CCTV footage from outside a Twickenham station and inside a custody suite not be deleted, as well as a transcript and audio of an interview Kerr gave to police after what her defence told the court was a “very short incident”.

The request suggests Kerr, 30, who was reported by The Sun newspaper to have vomited in a taxi and later allegedly called a police officer “stupid” and “white”, was either voluntarily or involuntarily detained after the incident. A UK police custody suite is a designated area within a police station or other building, where people are held having been apprehended before being remanded by the courts or released.

Neither Kerr, her management nor her legal team have commented on the charge.

A transcript of the pre-trial hearing at Kingston Crown Court last week, released to the media on Wednesday, also reveals Kerr’s barrister Grace Forbes has asked for body camera footage from police officers who attended the scene to be made available for her defence.

“We have noted there may be CCTV in this case, both from outside the police station, where the contact began and within the custody suite, and we would simply ask that that be preserved from this point on,” Forbes said in court, adding she was aware there may be time limits on how long it is retained before being automatically deleted.

Forbes told the court a police interview with Kerr had occurred and asked Crown prosecutors that it be provided to her team either as a transcript or in audio form.

Kerr’s legal team will return to court on April 26 to attempt to have the charges thrown out, arguing an abuse of process over the 12 months it took between the alleged incident and the formal charge in January.

If that challenge is dismissed, it will go to a four-day trial before a jury on February 3 where Kerr will argue she did not intend to cause harassment, alarm and distress to the officer, and that the alleged incident was not racially aggravated.

Judge Judith Elaine Coello informed Kerr that because she had been granted unconditional bail, she was expected to attend the hearing or risk being unrepresented in court. She also told the star athlete that should she decide to change her plea, it would be advisable to do so before the matter heads to trial.

“The sooner you plead guilty to this matter, if that is your intention and your wish, the earlier you do that the better, do you understand?” she said. “You will lose credit as time goes on, and should you be convicted after trial you will lose all credit you might otherwise have obtained.”

Kerr’s English club manager Emma Hayes said last week that the prolific goalscorer had the club’s backing, and it was a “difficult time for her”.

Currently sidelined with a knee injury which has ruled her out of the Paris Olympics, Kerr is Australia’s all-time leading scorer in international soccer with 69 goals from 128 games. She led the Matildas to the semi-finals of last year’s Women’s World Cup.

However, it emerged after the charge became public last week that she had not informed Football Australia or Matildas team management about the alleged incident.

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