Sam Kerr Not Guilty Of Racially Aggravated Harassment
Image: Sam Kerr @CommBankMatildas Facebook
Sam Kerr has been found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment after calling a police officer “fucking stupid and white” after a night out in 2023.
The verdict came after four hours of deliberation from the jury, and is expected to ignite debate around free speech and race in the UK.
The court heard that Kerr and her partner, Kristie Mewis, thought they were being taken “hostage” by a taxi driver after a night out. The driver called police after becoming concerned about their behaviour, and was advised by the operator to drive to the nearest police station. Both women denied being told this by the driver.
Mewis kicked out a window after fearing for the pair’s wellbeing, telling the court:”I knew I had to do something dramatic to save us.”
The court was shown 34 minutes of unedited footage from a constable’s body camera, during which time Kerr and Mewis refused to pay the fee for the broken window, and repeatedly asserted that they believed they were in danger.
The video culminated in Kerr telling an officer “you’re fucking stupid and white. Honestly, you guys are fucking stupid and white.”
Kerr told the court she used the words because she felt she was being treated differently because of her skin colour by a person in a position of power, but said she didn’t intend to cause offence.
“I expressed myself poorly in that video,” Kerr said.
Grace Forbes, Kerr’s lawyer, argued that the stress and fear that her client felt for her life in the taxi was relevant to her choice of words.
“You might think the fears they felt, genuinely held, whether well-founded or not, were highly relevant to what happened that night,” she told the jury.
“I did not intend to insult or harm anyone”
In their verdict, the jury were unable to convict Kerr on the basis that she intended to cause him “harassment, alarm or distress.”
In his report the day after the incident, the constable didn’t mention being distressed by the words, only mentioning it in a second report made 11 months later.
During her cross-examination, Forbes suggested that the officer was deliberately attempting to secure a criminal charge.
“Had he felt the impact he now asserts, he would have said so in that statement on the night,” she told the jury.
In a statement released after the verdict, Kerr said: “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.”
Although some are calling for Kerr to lose her Matildas captaincy, she still has a significant body of support.
Beau Busch, chief executive of Professional Footballers Australia, said he welcomed the verdict.
“Sam will continue to be an inspiration to many young footballers, and play an important ongoing role with the Matildas, especially with the Women’s Asian Cup on home soil next year.”
