A police sergeant accused of sexual assault has told a jury that she would “never” grab another person’s private parts and that the allegation against her caused her to emotionally shut down.

Metropolitan Police sergeant Rachel Bright, 46, who is married, was off duty when she allegedly touched a woman without her consent at a bar in Clapham, south London, on December 5 2022.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told jurors at Kingston Crown Court earlier in the trial that Bright “groped” her genitals and that she has been “ruined” by the “disgusting” experience.

She also claimed that, at one point, Bright placed her hand on her bottom and kissed her on the lips.

Bright, of Worcester Park, Sutton, insisted she would “never grab another person’s genitalia” while giving evidence on Thursday, and also denied kissing the alleged victim on the lips and putting her hand on her bottom.

The police sergeant told jurors that she “can’t remember a lot of that evening”, telling them she was “very drunk”.

The court heard she did not record in either of her two prepared statements that she was drunk and could not remember events.

Asked why she did not do so, she said: “I was still in shock at that point. I could not believe what was being said and I could not rationalise it in my head either.”

She added that she “didn’t understand” what she was being accused of at the time.

Responding to the suggestion that police will have given her an outline of the allegation against her, Bright said: “It doesn’t counteract the lack of sleep, the shock, the complete effect this had on my body at the time … almost shutting down.”

“Emotionally at that point I had pretty much shut down,” she continued.

Prosecutor Paul Edwards said she knew and understood police interview procedures and suggested she could have said she was not fit to be interviewed.

Bright replied: “Knowing about procedures, and the impact it has on you when you are in that position, are two very different things.

“I was in a daze, I had switched off, I had closed down.”

She denied that her hand touched the alleged victim’s genitals.

“I just know that I would never grab another person’s genitalia,” she added.

Bright also denied having a “sexual interest” in the alleged victim.

“I agree I can’t remember a lot of that evening but I know my personality,” she told the court. 

In character statements read out in court, several of Bright’s colleagues said they were “shocked” when they learned of the allegation against the police sergeant, with one saying he “cannot speak highly enough of Rachel as a friend and work colleague”. 

Rosa Bennathan, defending, previously said that Bright is married and a heterosexual woman who did not attempt to assault anyone.

Bright, who works in the Metropolitan Police’s south west command unit, denies one count of sexual assault.

She is currently suspended from duty.

The trial continues on Friday.