Chelsea striker Sam Kerr was found not guilty of harassment racily aggravated after qualifying a metropolitan policeman as “stupid and white”.
A jury at Kingston Crown Court made the verdict concerning the incident, which took place in Twickenham, southwest of London, January 30, 2023.
Kerr, 31, said she was “antagonized” by police after being taken to a police station in a taxi after a disagreement.
While she admitted to having used the words “stupid and white” to the PC Stephen Lovell, she denied that her remarks constituted a racial offense.
The Australian international showed his relief in court, giving his legal team a boost before going out with his fiancée, Kristie Mewis.
The altercation started after a taxi driver transported Kerr and Mewis to the Twickenham police station, alleging that they had refused to cover the cleaning costs after one of them was sick in the vehicle.
The driver also said that one of the women had broken the taxi rear window.
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr was found guilty of causing racily aggravated harassment, after calling a “stupid and white” metropolitan police officer. pic.twitter.com/zacfl8hjpu
– BBC Sport (@bbcsport) February 11, 2025
Judge Peter Lodder noted that Kerr’s actions had played a role in legal proceedings.
“I take the point of view that his own behavior has considerably contributed to this allegation,” he said.
“I do not pass behind the jury’s verdict, but it has an important impact on the issue of costs.”
During the trial, Kerr admitted to having regretted how she expressed himself but maintained: “I think the message was always relevant.
“I thought it was him using his power and his privilege on me because he accuses me of something that I am not.
“I was trying to express this because of the power and the privilege they had, they would never have to understand what we had just experienced and the fear that we had for our lives.”
It has now been revealed that Kerr’s legal team has tried to reject the case during a preliminary hearing, arguing that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had poorly managed the process.
His lawyer, Grace Forbes, accused the CPS of having violated his own directives, declaring that a “escape” in the system of victims’ revision law was used to justify his advance with the case a year after the alleged offense.
During the trial, PC Lovell was asked about his statements concerning the incident. Initially, he did not mention being afflicted by Kerr’s remarks, but in a second declaration submitted in December 2023, he described feeling “shocked, upset and (on the left) feeling humiliated”.
