Proceeders in the trial against Chelsea striker Sam Kerr, who is said to have called a police officer “Dom and White”, asked the jury if perceptions would be different if they had said “stupid and black”.
The International Australia is on trial accused of causing racially aggravated intimidation for PC Stephen Lovell during an incident in the southwest of London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
It is claimed that Kerr, 31, and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been drinking when they were driven by a taxi driver to the police station of Twickenham who complained that they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was Sick and that one of them hit the rear window of the vehicle.
At the police station, Kerr is said to have become “offensive and offensive” against PC Lovell and he calls him “F ****** stupid and white”.
In his last speech, public prosecutor Bill Emlyn-Jones KC asked the jury: “What if PC Lovell had been a black man and what if she had called him f ***** stupid and black?
“Now that is of course not a fair question, because black and white is not a fair exchange.
“Calling a white man is not so loaded, so you can't just turn it around, it's not as easy as that.
“In the heat of the moment this was an insult that was delivered in reference to race and that is what the law prohibits.
“The test for you is the same, regardless of the ethnicity in question. She insulted him and at the time she was hostile to him by referring to his race.
“So the fact that you will be able to think of much worse examples of racial worsening is not relevant.
“Would we regard this as a racially aggravated insult if she had said stupid and black? Of course you would do that, it would not even be disputable.”
During the trial, the court heard character references of Chelsea teammates and former head coach Emma Hayes.
Carly Telford, a keeper who played for Chelsea from 2017 to 2022, described Kerr as a “good friend” and an “introverted extrovert”.
She said: “On the field you see the skills, the back flips [but] She is quite quiet and shy away from pitch. Quite reserved. “
She described her as “generous” with her money and said that she often considered how she could cover the costs for the younger players on the evening “to ensure that they can celebrate with us”.
Grace Forbes, defensive Kerr, read statements from Mrs. Hayes, Chelsea Captain Millie Bright and midfielder in Cuthbert.
Mrs. Hayes, the former Chelsea manager and current head coach of the American football team, said that Kerr was an “exemplary role model” and described her as “one of the hottest, friendliest, friendly and most thoughtful players”.
She added: “She is calm and sober and conscious. She comes from a great family. She has the greatest heart, she is a big child in heart and soul, I think she is doing well to manage everything to her is thrown and the expectation that is placed on her. “
Mrs Bright described Kerr as a “really special man”, while Mrs. Cuthbert said she was a “great friend and teammate” who has “a unique talent to see the best in everyone”.
The process continues.
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