The Facts
According to their lawyers, the London police on Thursday apologized and paid "substantial damages" to the two women arrested at a vigil in honor of Sarah Everard. Everard was raped and murdered by a serving officer.
The Metropolitan Police (Met) detained Patsy Stevenson and Dania Al-Obeid, who attended the vigil on Clapham Common in March 2021 despite it being canceled due to threats of £10k (about $12.4K) in fines for violating pandemic restrictions.
The Spin
Left narrative
Not only did the Met violate the rights of Stevenson and Al-Obeid to protect and mourn the rape and death of Sarah Everard, but they convicted Ms. Al-Obeid behind closed doors without telling her. London's police may have repented for their egregious actions on this particular night, but the issue of these unaccountable cops is far from solved and must be scrutinized more now than ever.
Right narrative
London's police officers were wrong to break up normal civil protests under the guise of public health laws, but that doesn't mean the Met should be ridiculed more broadly. Today, protest groups like Just Stop Oil are actually endangering the public by blocking traffic and disrupting regular Britons' daily lives. In this regard, officers should be given more authority to remove these nuisances from the street.