Matildas and Chelsea star had denied charge and was cleared at Kingston crown court
Kerr showed no emotion during the reading of the verdict, which the jury delivered after a little over four hours of deliberation, but gave a thumbs up to her barrister Grace Forbes.
Judge Peter Lodder KC said after the verdict: “I take the view her own behaviour contributed significantly to the bringing of this allegation.In a six-day trial, Kingston crown court heard that Kerr had called a Metropolitan police officer “fucking stupid and white” after he doubted her account of being “held hostage” in a locked taxi that was speeding and swerving.
His second statement had been submitted in December 2023, 11 months after the incident. In it, he said her comments had left him “shocked, upset and humiliated”. His initial statement made no mention of how Kerr’s words affected him. After this, Kerr and Mewis told the court that the driver locked the doors of the taxi and began speeding and swerving. Both said they had feared for their lives. The taxi driver called the police, unbeknownst to the couple. He was told to drive them to Twickenham police station.
The pair told the court they were “relieved” to come into contact with officers. Soon after, however, Kerr said officers were “dismissive” of their claims. After Lovell spoke to his colleague, who had been talking to the taxi driver, Kerr said his tone changed and he made the couple feel as if they “were the ones who had done something wrong”.
Kerr responds: “You’re sick. You’re honestly sick. You’re literally a white privileged person. You’re literally a white privileged man.”Kerr told the court she believed officers were “treating me differently based on what they perceived to be the colour of my skin”. Mewis said she felt officers treated her differently in the station. At one point, Lovell told Kerr to “calm down young missy” and, in the course of the exchange, she said her treatment was a “racial fucking thing”.
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