London, SAEDNEWS: A London vigil for murder victim Sarah Everard -- held in defiance of a police order amid the Covid-19 pandemic – turned ugly after large numbers of officers arrived and tried to clear people from the area.
Several organizers of Saturday's vigil at Clapham Common were reportedly arrested, and footage from the scene showed clashes with police. One clip posted on Twitter shows several women standing on the edge of a bandstand where police congregated, including one holding a sign that says, "We aren't safe in our homes." Four women are then grabbed from behind by officers, pulled back and arrested after several people in the crowd try unsuccessfully to pull them back.
Police had ordered cancellation of the vigil, saying earlier Saturday that despite sharing the public's outrage over Everard's murder and rising concerns over violence against women, "we must all continue to work together to fight Covid-19 and keep each other safe." Vigil organizers challenged the order in court, but the police decision was upheld.
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