Kerr tells court police treated her differently

Samantha Kerr, a Chelsea football player, claimed in court that Twickenham police station officers treated her differently because they “perceived my skin to be different.”

The Australian international claims that PC Stephen Lovell was “stupid and white” during a confrontation in south-west London and that he was racially harassed.

Following a disagreement over payment when Ms. Kerr was out for a night out on January 30th, 2023, a taxi driver allegedly took her to the station.

Ms Kerr was with her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, when the incident alleged happened.

After the couple complained that the driver “spitted vomit” out of his car window, while Ms. Mewis allegedly smashed the rear window while the driver had locked the doors, the driver then told the court.

The defence asked Ms Kerr how it felt being with the three police officers, including PC Lovell, at the station.

She claimed to the court that because “they were trying to tell us that we were the ones who had done something criminal here,” she initially felt relieved before feeling scared again.

She added that the conduct of two of the officers was “antagonising”.

Asked by the defence, Grace Forbes, what it was like watching the video, Ms Kerr said: “It’s really hard to watch myself like that”.

Ms. Kerr testified before the court that she needed to show that she was receiving poor treatment.

Do you believe a taxi driver who is going to rape and kill you would take you to a police station, as PC Lovell claimed in the video?

Responding, Ms Kerr said in the video that he was a “white privileged person”.

Ms. Kerr also testified before the court that she and her partner were “trapped” in a taxi and that she had feared for their lives.

Before the driver shut the window and began “drive dangerously,” Ms. Kerr claimed to have put her head out when she started to feel ill.

When asked, she claimed that Ms. Mewis had slammed her boot against the back window several times before it shattered, and that she was relieved that “there was a way out.”

Ms. Kerr added that because of her skin’s color, she had also experienced “being treated differently.”

She said she identified as “white anglo-Indian”, with her mother from Australia and father from India, the jury heard.

She claimed that she first encountered racism when she was nine or ten years old when she was questioned by the defense.

She testified before the court that there were instances where she felt treated differently, such as on social media. She continued, “I’ve frequently been followed round by a security guard” at a shopping center.