UK
Patsy Stevenson: Woman arrested at Sarah Everard vigil calls for Metropolitan Police to be abolished
A woman arrested at the Sarah Everard vigil has called for the abolition of the Metropolitan Police after she was awarded a payout by the force for its actions.
Patsy Stevenson was handcuffed by officers on Clapham Common in March 2021 while COVID restrictions were in place.
Ms Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by serving Met Officer Wayne Couzens earlier that month.
Both Ms Stevenson and Dania Al-Obeid have now been awarded payouts and apologies following a lengthy legal battle with UK’s biggest police force.
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Speaking to the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, Ms Stevenson said: “We need to keep up public pressure on the police; they need to absolutely radically reform the entire institution or abolish it, if I’m honest,
“I think I’m at that point.
“I never thought I’d say that I agree with abolishment, but it’s looking like it’s a good idea in my books.”
Ms Stevenson said she did not believe that new Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley could be trusted to sort out the force.
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She said: “I think that he is better at talking than [his predecessor] Cressida Dick was.
“I think he’s very good giving lip service. He’s very good at talking about things that he wants to change, and you know he’s going to do this and going to do that.
“I don’t think he cares, in my opinion.”
Read more:
What went wrong at the vigil?
How killer police officer Wayne Couzens was caught
Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge
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Ms Al-Obeid shared how her experiences reminded of her own experience of domestic abuse, and how she felt minimised and silenced and blamed.
She said: “And then getting arrested and handled the way we did, it brought me back to that time of being silenced.
“And I was like, I couldn’t do it.
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Ms Al-Obeid told Sophy Ridge how her experiences made her feel silenced and blamed
“And I didn’t want to go ahead with a civil claim, and I kind of shied away.”
It was only when she was convicted under COVID regulations that Ms Al-Obeid decided to fight against the police.
The Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge will be on Sky News from 7pm tonight.