
Police failures exposed by Sarah Everard murder underpin culture of misogyny in the force, activists say
CNN
When thousands gathered to mourn the death of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in March, London police responded with force.
Scenes of grieving women being pinned to the ground and brutalized by Metropolitan Police officers shocked people across the United Kingdom. Everard was just walking home when she was snatched from the street -- to the mourners it felt like it could have happened to them. They had gathered to "Reclaim These Streets," as the group that organized the vigil is called, and to honor a lost sister. But London's police called the event an illegal gathering and handcuffed some participants, citing Covid regulations.
Prosecutors would later say Covid-19 rules were used by one of their own officers to detain and then kidnap Everard.