London Metropolitan Police under fire

London police faced backlash from the public and politicians on Sunday for breaking an outdoor vigil for a woman whose alleged killer is a police officer. The disappearance of Sarah Everard, 33, walking home on the evening of March 3, sparked a wave of grief and dismay in the UK over the failure of police and society to deal with violence against women. The police had denied permission for a vigil on Saturday evening in the London borough of Clapham Common, near the place where Everard was last seen alive, citing regulations intended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered peacefully in the park despite the ban to pay their last respects to Everard throughout the day, including Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. Late on Saturday dozens of police officers marched into the crowd shouting "Shame on you". A scuffle broke out and the officers dragged women away from the scene. "Last night people were very, very excited, there was a lot of emotion, totally understandable, and the police, being operationally independent, will have to explain this to the Home Secretary," Protection Secretary Victoria Atkins told Sky News. Home Secretary Priti Patel, the minister responsible for policing, described the footage of the incident as "harrowing" and said she had asked the police for a full report on the incident. A picture of officers handcuffing a woman while she lies on the floor was widely shared and condemned on social media. The woman, Patsy Stevenson, told LBC Radio, "The main point everyone was trying to get across when it all happened is that women don't feel safe, they don't feel safe walking down a street, and that's the absolute Minimum we should have the freedom to do. " She said she was fined £ 200 for violating COVID regulations. A steady stream of silent mourners visited the vigil site on Sunday and laid flowers around a bandstand. "I feel very angry that you think you have the right to dictate how we grieve and how we react," 24-year-old student Lilith Blackwell told Reuters at the bandstand. Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Helen Ball (NYSE: BLL) defended the officers' actions, saying they faced a very difficult decision. "Hundreds of people have been huddled together which is a very real risk that Covid-19 will be easily transmitted," she said. A police officer charged with Everard's murder appeared in court on Saturday. Police discovered her body on Wednesday in a wooded area about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of London. The court heard that her body was found in a contractor's garbage bag and identified from dental records ... Everard's murder has resonated with women across the country, prompting thousands to use social media to share their experiences of violence and sexual assault by men and to vividly describe the daily fear they feel.