The woman who was pinned to the ground by police at the Sarah Everard vigil is threatening the Met with legal action over her arrest.
Patsy Stevenson was infamously pictured being restrained and handcuffed by police officers as the vigil on Clapham Common on March 13 last year ended in a series of arrests.
Law firm Bindmans, which is acting for Ms Stevenson, said on Friday that Scotland Yard continues to defend police actions that evening and has now been threatened with legal action unless it changes its stance.
“Many women and individuals attended the vigil for Sarah and several, including myself, were forcibly removed from the vigil and arrested”, said Ms Stevenson, in a statement.
“I was there to pay my respects, express my grief and show solidarity with women everywhere. Women are being murdered just for being women.
“All we wanted was a space to collectively grieve and express anger, but this was denied to us. Instead, police officers used physical force to police our emotions, silence us and shut down this important space.”
Marketing executive Ms Everard, 33, was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home from a friend’s house on the evening of March 3, 2021.
Her death sparked a wave of protests about women’s safety around the UK, including a vigil at the bandstand in Clapham Common – one of the last places Ms Everard had been seen alive.
Scotland Yard blocked attempts by campaign group Reclaim These Streets to hold an organised and socially-distanced vigil, by claiming that Covid restrictions at the time made all gatherings illegal. However, the High Court has since ruled that this approach was unlawful as it overlooked the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.
In a statement on Ms Stevenson’s case, Bindmans said the pre-action letter was sent on Tuesday to the Met, “challenging the policing operation at the Clapham Common vigil for Sarah Everard”.
“The policing at the vigil resulted in Ms Stevenson being forcibly removed from the Clapham Common bandstand, restrained on the ground, handcuffed and arrested. She was also later issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice for her attendance at the vigil.
“Bindmans has previously exchanged correspondence with the Metropolitan Police Service, challenging the legality of Ms Stevenson’s arrest and treatment, but the MPS have maintained that their actions were lawful.”
Ms Stevenson is now crowdfunding to pursue the legal action, and said: “Part of the reason I want to bring this case is because I know there are others who do not feel able to - whether it is because of the lack of availability of funding, because they are scared, or to protect themselves against reliving the trauma.
“I really hope that this will give others some courage to stand up for what they believe in."
The Met was contacted about the case and has declined to comment.
Four were fined but two resolved to fight the allegations at trial, after they were accused of breaking Covid rules when present at the vigil.
In witness statements for those prosecutions, PC Alexander Davis said officers decided to start making arrests when they believed the vigil had turned into an “anti-police protest”.
PC Darryl Mayne said he saw “clear breach(es) of coronavirus regulations taking place” and said he was “distressed” by chants aimed at police officers.
Inspector Dave Laurie told Westminster magistrates court he felt officers had “no choice” but to arrest women who had linked arms next to the bandstand.
“I remember feeling sad that what started out as a vigil with people adhering to the coronavirus regulations had changed significantly and that I wasn’t convinced people were there to solely pay their respects in remembrance of Sarah Everard, and that they did not intend to leave the area any time soon”, he said.
