A young woman claims police ignored her pleas for help after a man exposed himself to her as she walked home from the vigil for Sarah Everard.
Georgina Ashby attended Saturday night’s vigil on Clapham Common, held in memory of 33-year-old Ms Everard.
But when Ms Ashby walked to her home nearby after being told to leave by police, she says she was confronted by a man who flashed his genitals at her.
The 27-year-old says she reported the incident of indecent exposure to officers at the scene but was told they’d ‘had enough with the rioters tonight’ and would not be investigating.
A well-wisher places a tribute to the growing pile from a gap in a police cordon at the bandstand on Clapham Common, south London, on Saturday
Appearing on Good Morning Britain today, Ms Ashby claims she told police about the incident but was told by an officer: ‘I don’t wanna deal with it, I don’t wanna deal with the rioters.’
She told the show: ‘I was told by a couple of police officers to leave [the vigil], which is what I did, abide by what they asked.
‘As I headed home there was a man who was quite incoherent, unfortunately he had his genitalia out as I tried to walk past him. I felt really uncomfortable.
‘This isn’t the first time this has happened to me, I know that this has happened to many, many women but a lot of times we haven’t really had an opportunity to talk to police right at the moment.
‘And as I was walking there were police just a couple of moments away, so I felt it was appropriate to go and tell them what had happened.
‘At the very least even if I had been walked to a safer, better lit area I would have accepted that.
‘The female officer said they’d go and check it out but the male officer did interject.’
Ms Ashby told the BBC she had approached a group of ‘about five or six police officers’ to ask them for help.
She told the BBC: ‘The female officer said ‘ok, fine, we’ll go’ and she was about to go when a male colleague said ‘we’re not dealing with this anymore, no, we’ve had enough with the rioters tonight, we’re not dealing with it’.’
She added: ‘It’s such a huge challenge that women don’t feel they have a safe space to even speak on these things let alone that these things even happen and continue to happen.’
Scotland Yard said two female officers had since visited Ms Ashby.
Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick (seen walking to New Scotland Yard) has faced mounting pressure over the force’s handling of Ms Everard’s disappearance and a crackdown on a vigil held in memory of her on Saturday
Ms Ashby claims she approached a group of ‘about five or six police officers’ to ask them for help
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘Police received a report of indecent exposure that occurred in the vicinity of Clapham Common at approximately 20.00 hours on Saturday 13 of March.
‘The complainant, a woman, reported that a man had exposed himself. An appointment has been made with the woman to progress this.
‘We are aware of a report that she tried to report the incident at the time to officers in the area – this will be looked at.’
This comes as the Met faces a probe over its handling of the vigil on Saturday evening.
It also emerged today that a police officer guarding the Sarah Everard murder scene allegedly sent colleagues inappropriate WhatsApp messages about her killing.
Ms Everard’s murder and Couzens’ arrest has sparked vigils across the country in her memory and demands for action to tackle violence against women
New nightmare for Cressida Dick after it emerges Met police officer guarding Sarah Everard murder scene ‘sent inappropriate WhatsApp messages to colleagues about her killing’
A police officer guarding the Sarah Everard murder scene allegedly sent colleagues inappropriate WhatsApp messages about her killing.
The probationary Met constable, who had been deployed as a cordon officer supporting the search operation in Kent, is said to have shared a meme showing images of a uniformed officer abducting a woman.
Horrified fellow officers reported the rookie officer’s actions because they were concerned by its content. The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards was made aware on Friday.
The latest incident adds to the pressure faced by Met Commissioner Cressida Dick as she battles calls to resign over her force’s ‘heavy handed’ crackdown on a vigil for Ms Everard on Clapham Common on Saturday and the investigation into murder suspect Wayne Couzens.
The incident has now been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the officer has been removed from frontline duties.
Wayne Couzens (left) is presented with an award for his achievements during his time in the territorial army between 2002-2004. Couzens was charged with the murder and kidnap of Sarah Everard (right), who disappeared on March 3
He is believed to have been placed in a non-public facing role while enquiries continue.
In a statement, the Met Police confirmed the graphic did not contain photographic images, images of Sarah, or any other material obtained from or related to the investigation into Sarah’s murder.
Sarah’s family have been made aware of the incident.
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave, said: ‘The Metropolitan Police Service expects its officers to behave professionally at all times and this includes how they use social media.
‘I take allegations that any officer or officers have failed to observe these standards very seriously and have referred this matter to the IOPC.’
Metropolitan Police officers have been in Sandwich, Kent, in recent days as the Sarah Everard investigation continues
Ex-Met detective chief inspector Mick Neville told The Sun: ‘Being a frontline officer, dealing with crime and misery, often requires a gallows sense of humour to let off steam.
‘But any decent officer knows the limits. Joking about a horrific murder and kidnap, whilst the family is grieving, is completely unacceptable.
‘The last thing the Met needs is anything else to undermine the public’s trust in the force. This will do just that.’
It is the sixth referral of the Met to the IOPC regarding events surrounding the disappearance and murder of Ms Everard.