Sam Kerr trial: Chelsea and Australia footballer tells court she 'feared for her life' in taxi
A Chelsea footballer on trial for causing racially aggravated harassment to a police officer says she “feared for her life” during the incident
Australia international Sam Kerr said she and her partner were “trapped” in the back of a taxi moments before one of them smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
She is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
It is alleged that 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 that they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, and that one of them smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, Kerr told the jury 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: “He accelerated and began to swerve in and out of lanes… We were getting thrown around. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He was speeding up and stopping.
“Neither of us had our belts on so we stood up and tried to talk to him… it felt like he was going wherever he thought… I was terrified.”
Ms Kerr said the dangerous driving continued for 15 to 20 minutes, adding: “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.
“I started to realise how serious the situation was. It put me in protective mode… he had the power over us. We were not in control… I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving but also because he could have taken us anywhere. He couldn’t be tracked so no one knew where we were.”
Kerr said the pair tried to open the doors and windows multiple times but they remained locked.
Eventually, Ms Mewis “kicked out (the window) with her boot” which resulted in Kerr feeling “relieved”, but she added: “We didn’t get out straight away as the car was still moving.”
Previously PC Lovell told the court that he was “determined to pursue” the prosecution of Kerr after she called him “stupid and white”.
Footage from his bodyworn camera was previously played to jurors, in which Kerr tells told PC Lovell and PC Samuel Limb that she and Ms Mewis were “very scared” and “trying to escape” the cab when they damaged the vehicle.
At the police station Kerr is alleged to have become “abusive and insulting” towards Pc Lovell, calling him “stupid and white”. Kerr accepts making the comments but denies that they amount to the charge.
The Crown Prosecution Service originally decided not to charge Kerr, the court heard.
It was put to PC Lovell that he only provided a statement alleging that Ms Kerr’s comments had caused alarm or harassment after that decision. In his first statement to the CPS, the officer made no mention of the “stupid and white” comment having an impact on him, the jury was told.
Police submitted a request to review the CPS decision not to prosecute, and it responded that the outcome would be limited to an apology, the court heard.
Prosecutors later requested further evidence and a second statement from PC Lovell was provided in December 2023, mentioning the alleged impact. He read a section of the statement to the court which said the comments made him “shocked, upset, and (left) me feeling humiliated”. The charge was authorised later in December 2023, nearly a year after the incident.
Grace Forbes, defending Kerr, said during cross-examination: “The only reason you made that statement was because the Crown Prosecution Service had declined to authorise a criminal charge to prosecute Ms Kerr.”
He responded “no” before agreeing that officers were dealing with whether to pursue prosecution in August 2023.
“Throughout July and August 2023, the Women’s World Cup was playing,” the defence lawyer said.
Pc Lovell responded: “If you say so, yes.”
Ms Forbes said “Ms Kerr was playing for her country” and “she would have been all over TV – do you recall seeing her?”
The officer denied seeing the striker on TV before the defence barrister said “this person who made you feel unimportant”.
She added: “You were determined to pursue this person, weren’t you?”
PC Lovell said “yes” and Ms Forbes asked “through the criminal courts?”
The officer said “yes” again.
She noted that the CPS had originally found no evidence of harassment or alarm caused by Kerr’s comments, and suggested PC Lovell’s second statement described their effect “purely to get a criminal charge over the line”.
Mr Jones asked if his race had “any relevance as far as you can see to what was going on”, and PC Lovell said “no” and later added that the reference to him being white “upset me, I guess”.
The trial continues.