Some of the police officers equipped with firearms in London have decided to give up carrying weapons after one of them was charged with murder for the murder of a young black man a year ago, reports AFP.
British police officers near the Palace of Westminster in LondonPhoto: Adrian DENNIS / AFP / Profimedia
Following this highly unusual, if not unprecedented, protest, Home Secretary Suella Braverman expressed her “full support” for armed police who “risk their lives to keep us safe”.
She added that these police officers, who “have to make split-second decisions under tremendous pressure”, “shouldn’t be afraid to be in the dock for doing their duty”.
How did it get here?
A police officer went on trial Thursday for the killing of Chris Kaba, a 24-year-old man whose death sparked protests and reignited the debate over racism in the police force.
Kaba was shot on September 5, 2022 through the windshield of the car he was driving, the license plate number of which matched that of a vehicle linked to a gun incident the previous days. He died a few hours later at the hospital.
The police officer was suspended and placed under judicial review.
Most of London’s 34,000 police officers are not armed. Of those who carry guns, “many are concerned” about the potential consequences of a prosecution, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.
“They are concerned” that what happened “marks a change in how the decisions they make in the most difficult circumstances will be judged,” he added.
“A number of officers” have decided to give up their armed police authorization “while they review their position,” the London Police spokesman continued, adding that “their number has increased over the past 48 hours.”
According to the BBC, their number is more than 100.
Faced with the scale of the movement, armed officers from the surrounding police were mobilized to patrol London on Saturday evening, according to the British news agency PA.
London police have a “significant capacity” of armed officers deployed across the British capital and in places such as Parliament, diplomatic headquarters and airports, a London police spokesman said.
