The physics student at Royal Holloway appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning, talking about her arrest.
Whilst attending the vigil in memory of Sarah Everard, and in support of the wider movement around women’s safety, Patsy was pictured being pinned to the ground by police officers and arrested. She says she was then fined £200.
A woman is arrested by Metropolitan Police officers at a vigil in memory of Sarah Everard on Clapham Common, London. Photograph by @jackhillphotopic.twitter.com/qhp8GFibNr
‘I was only there to lay a candle down’
Patsy told GMB she went along to the vigil to as she wanted to pay respects and show support to Sarah Everard and her family.
This weekend, a vigil at Clapham Common in memory of Sarah Everard and other victims of violence against women saw police pinning women to the ground. Patsy Stevenson, a student who says she only went to the vigil to lay a candle, pay respects and show solidarity, was “pushed to the ground forcefully” by “two very large male officers”, and arrested. She said the vigil “turned very scary very quickly”, and she was “terrified”.
This was met with horror, and on Sunday there were protests against the violence used. ‘Kill The Bill’ protests also began at New Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police Headquarters, against the new proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which would affect how we can protest.
Last night, the #ReclaimSheffieldStreets vigil was meant to take place in memory of Sarah Everard at Devonshire Green. It was cancelled by the police due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The event was replaced by a virtual Zoom vigil which took place at 6 pm online. However, this didn’t stop the public from going down to Devonshire Green and paying their respects to Ms Everard. Flowers and signs were placed and candles were lit to show their condolences for the murder and kidnap of the 33-year-old.
A sign left at the Sheffield vigil
Sarah went missing in Clapham on her walk home from a friend’s house. A Metropolitan policeman was arrested for kidnap and murder after a body discovered in Kent was identified as Sarah’s.
Across the weekend people have taken to the streets to mourn the death of Sarah Everard and to protest for the safety of women. Group Reclaim These Streets organised a series of vigils for Sarah Everard across the country and despite official cancellations, many people still came out in solidarity to pay their respects.
Whilst many vigils were able to go ahead peacefully such as those in Bristol and Nottingham, attendees in Clapham were met with “violence” from the Metropolitan Police Force. Following the scenes at the vigil on Saturday, protestors took to the streets on Sunday to protest at New Scotland Yard. Protestors also returned to Clapham Common to pay their respects to Sarah Everard whilst went to Parliament Square where they lied down in tribute to all the women who have been killed by police officers.