How much more of this rubbish will women accept? Sarah Everard prosecutions

[newnamethanks]

I can't see a thread on this. Happy to delete this if there is one as the accumulated fury should set MN aflame. The prosecution of the 6 women arrested at Sarah's vigil will go ahead. This decision was made by the Met, not the CPS. 4 of the cases will be heard with the public excluded. They are accused of failing to pay the FPNs issued for breaking Covid regulations by assembling at a gathering of more than 2 people. They weren't playing ABBA songs, they weren't drinking champagne or beer, they were outside and they weren't having a party and they are not members of the government. They, together with many others, were attending a vigil for Sarah who was raped and murdered by a serving Met officer. AIBU to ask how the hell any woman can be expected to put trust in a Met officer?

AIBU to ask how the hell any woman can be expected to put trust in a Met officer?
YANBU.

So you think , going forward, that the police should just arrest/ fine people that make them look good - any little old ladies, young lads should be patted on the head and sent on their way.

I wonder if any of them will argue that the fines are unlawful because the police policy was?

I would be interested to see how this event compares to football fan celebrations and large funerals that broke the rules, in terms of numbers of people, police presence, arrests, fines issued, fines enforce and fines paid.

Oh it’s far from random

Hmm yes how many fines WERE issued for gatherings at the football??? I’d love to know. (Can’t recall which football match, but the Police’s approach couldn’t be Ben more different).

Should have just paid the fine. Sorry no sympathy there.

Police are routinely violent at men's events like football. So I don't get it that men's events are treated worse. In fact men are much more likely to have a weapon (taser or firearm drawn on them) which highlights the sexist policing against men.

This. How come there is not more being said about this? Where is the outrage, or is she somehow different?

I am aware that there is often Police violence at matches - but I am referring to a specific big match - when some club won a big trophy or a difficult match or something there was a celebratory atmosphere and the policing was very different to that of the vigil. Despite the same lockdown rules being in place. There was a thread about it at the time. Someone will come along with the name of the final!

That poster is talking about the use of the covid regulations, which were something quite specific and not like other legislation we have had. Police violence is an important issue but not the same one as the way in which covid regulations were utilised. Presumably you don't think those were evenly applied across the population?

If the Met had any sense they wouldn't pursue this. But if they had any sense there are are a lot of things they wouldn't or would do.

"They are women and they defied men's orders"
"I couldn't care less what gender the magistrates were."

@orwellwasright I also couldn't care less what gender the magistrates were, but you are being deliberately obtuse. Of the 4 defendants in the magistrates court for non-payment of FPNs, 2 were men.

"Why should they pay a fine if the vigil was legal?"

Yes - the vigil was legal as long as Covid distancing rules were followed. Also legal if Covid rules were followed was eating and drinking, including Birthday Cakes, curry and alcohol. Playing ABBA songs and breaking a child's swing was not against the rules, but failing to follow the distancing rules whilst doing any of these rightly attracted FPNs, and non-payment of FPNs rightly attracted a summons to the magistrates court.

It was interesting listening to the radio yesterday. One commentator said that the courts have ruled that the Met acted unlawfully at that event. The Met appealed that ruling and lost and have tried to further appeal it but have been blocked from doing so. They announced these prosecutions immediately after having their appeal denied. It doesn't half stink.

Of the 4 defendants in the magistrates court for non-payment of FPNs, 2 were men.

The two men are named as Ben Wheeler, 21, from Kennington, and Kevin Godin-Prior, 68, from Manchester.

I've just googled their names and Godin-Prior is obviously the same man here -

July 2010
A man said to be obsessed with a woman has been warned he could face up to five years in jail if he approaches her or family again.

Kevin Godin-Prior, [then 56], who first attended court in a full Spiderman outfit ... was jailed for 26 weeks at Flintshire Magistrates’ Court ... suspended for two years.

The court heard [the woman's] life was turned upside down when she and Godin-Prior, a former university friend, got in touch through Friends Reunited. She left her partner and went to live with him – but returned home within weeks because of his controlling nature.

Godin-Prior could not stand rejection and started bombarding her with phone calls and texts. He got it into his head her partner ... was holding her captive.

Godin-Prior alleged she was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and even asked social workers to get her committed to hospital.

Godin-Prior pestered her friends and family. He put up wanted posters for her partner around Mynydd Isa with a £1,000 reward.

www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/man-convicted-harassment-flintshire-magistrates-2751874

@Clavinova Very interesting but as per usual, whats the relevance?

Alexandra2001
Very interesting but as per usual, what's the relevance?

This thread is littered with posts such as;
They are women and they defied men's orders

Godin-Prior travelled down from Manchester to attend a woman's vigil, having previously been convicted for harassing a woman, and you don't find that odd?

Or perhaps he was just wearing his Spiderman outfit and causing a nuisance? Here he is again in 2015 and 2016:

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/real-life-superhero-dressed-spider-6752620

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3388527/Three-door-car-ironing-board-clothes-chair-mop-FRIDGE-sticking-boot-stopped-police.html

If you find yourself in a dirty place, surrounded by dirt, a defence is to grab some of that dirt and throw it at your enemies hoping some will stick. Tabloid tactics on Mumsnet. Expect better really.

She wasn't at the post-commemoration party where the problems arose. DoC was not present during any part of that. The publicised commemoration/vigil was not an all-woman gathering - it was full of locals of both sexes and also the streams of people who continued to arrive after that had concluded were not all women either.

There were people coming and going from the bandstand for several days before and after (like DoC) and none of whom attracted any police attention (though police were usually present). There was no outrage for any of those visitors. The other vigils in other places attracted no police attention. Nor did the vigil itself at the bandstand, not the gathering at the bandstand for at least 40 mins after the end of the vigil (ie the actual commemorative events as publicised).

They didn’t fine everyone who attended the vigil, in fact they only fined a very very small number. Those fines were issued after the vigil was scheduled to finish.

it also depends what you mean by vigil.

• the whole 3+ days of people paying their respects and laying flowers
• the specific early evening commemoration, which happened without incident and from which most people left at its conclusion
• the post-commemoration gathering, which the police spent a quite a while (30-40 mins?) asking people to disperse (they were still arriving well after the end of the commemoration and the crowd was growing, before beginning to move people on