Chelsea striker Sam Kerr has apologised “for expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening” after being found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment for calling a Metropolitan Police officer “stupid and white”.
The Australia international made the comments to Pc Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of January 30 2023.
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 had smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
At the police station, Kerr became “abusive and insulting” towards Pc Lovell, calling him “f****** stupid and white”.
A jury returned the not guilty verdict on Tuesday after deliberating for around four hours and 17 minutes at Kingston Crown Court since the previous day.
On Tuesday evening, Kerr issued a statement which read: “Following today’s not guilty verdict, I can finally put this challenging period behind me.
“While I apologise for expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening, I have always maintained that I did not intend to insult or harm anyone and I am thankful that the jury unanimously agreed.
“I would like to thank my partner Kristie, my family, friends and all the fans for their love and support, especially those who attended court each day.
“I am fully focused on getting back on to the pitch and look forward to an exciting year ahead for me and my family.”
During the trial, the court heard how Kerr had accepted later calling Pc Lovell “stupid and white” during a heated exchange but denied that it amounted to the charge.
She said she regretted the way she expressed herself but added: “I feel the message was still relevant”.
She denied using “whiteness as an insult” and claimed: “I believed it was him using his power and privilege over me because he was accusing me of being something I’m not… I was trying to express that due to the power and privilege they had, they would never have to understand what we had just gone through and the fear we were having for our lives.”
Asked if she was saying Pc Lovell was “stupid because he was white”, Kerr said: “No”.
Kerr and Mewis told the court how they felt “dismissed” by Pc Lovell after explaining how they had been “trapped” in the back of a taxi and “held against our will”.
Mewis smashed the taxi’s rear window before the pair climbed out of the vehicle, which was parked near Twickenham Police Station.
At the station, Kerr, Mewis and Pc Lovell got into an exchange, described in court as a “heated argument”, and Kerr told police “this is a racial f****** thing”.
She told the jury: “I believed they 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.”
The Crown Prosecution Service originally decided not to charge Kerr, the court heard.
It can now be reported that Kerr’s legal team attempted to get the case thrown out at a preliminary hearing, arguing there had been an abuse of process by crown prosecutors.
Speaking during the hearing on January 14, Kerr’s lawyer Grace Forbes said the CPS had violated its own guidance, adding that a “loophole” in the victims’ right of review scheme was used to justify prosecution proceedings a year after the alleged offence.
During the trial, it was put to Pc Lovell that he only provided a statement alleging that 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.
Forbes said to Pc Lovell during cross-examination: “You were determined to pursue this person, weren’t you?”
Pc Lovell said “yes” and Forbes asked, “through the criminal courts?”
The officer replied “yes” again.
