The review showed that the Metropolitan Police was “justified in adopting the view that the risks of transmitting COVID-19 at the vigil were too great to ignore when planning for and policing the event.”She went missing on March 3, and her remains were found a week later. Reclaim These Streets, which had organised the vigil before cancelling it, criticised the findings and said the “disregard for us as women organisers in the report is clear”.Matt Parr, who led the inspection team, said: “A minute’s silence was held for Sarah at 6pm, after which a peaceful and sombre vigil turned into something else – a rally with dense crowds and little or no social distancing.”
After reviewing “hundreds of documents, body-worn video from police officers at the vigil and other media, and conducting interviews with the police, vigil organisers and politicians”, the inspectorate found police did their best to peacefully disperse the crowd.
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It also said officers remained calm “when subjected to abuse” and “did not act inappropriately or in a heavy-handed manner”.
He added: “Amidst a heightened public debate on women’s safety, and during an unprecedented pandemic, the Metropolitan Police faced a complex and sensitive policing challenge at Clapham Common.
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“Condemnation of the Met’s actions within mere hours of the vigil – including from people in positions of responsibility – was unwarranted, showed a lack of respect for public servants facing a complex situation, and undermined public confidence in policing based on very limited evidence.
“After reviewing a huge body of evidence – rather than a snapshot on social media – we found that there are some things the Met could have done better, but we saw nothing to suggest police officers acted in anything but a measured and proportionate way in challenging circumstances.
