2023-09-25 02:59:02
Police officers in London give up carrying weapons after one of them is charged with murder
The British Army expressed, on Sunday, its readiness to replace the Metropolitan Police “if necessary,” after a number of armed London police officers decided to abandon carrying their weapons following a murder charge against a policeman who shot and killed a young black man a year ago.
Following this unusual and unprecedented move, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman expressed her “full support” for the armed police officers who “risk their lives to ensure our security.”
She said that police officers who “have to make split-second decisions under exceptional pressure” should not “fear that they will find themselves in the dock for performing their duty.”
Scotland Yard requested the army’s support in combating terrorism if there was a shortage in the number of armed police.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “This is an emergency solution that will only be used in special circumstances and where an appropriate police response to maintain security is not available.”
A policeman appeared before the court on Thursday, accused of killing 24-year-old Chris Cappa, whose killing sparked demonstrations and revived controversy over racism in the police ranks.
Kaba was injured on September 5 by a bullet that entered the windshield of a car he was driving, the registration number of which matched a car linked to an incident in which firearms were used in the previous days.
Capa spent a few hours in hospital. The policeman was suspended from work and placed under judicial supervision.
The majority of London’s 34,000 police officers are unarmed.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Many of them are concerned” about the potential consequences of these prosecutions.
He added, “They are concerned” that it “represents a change in the way decisions they make are judged in the most difficult circumstances.”
The London Police spokesman added that “a specific number of elements” decided to give up their authorization to carry weapons “while they study their situations,” explaining that “this number has increased during the last 48 hours.”
The BBC confirmed that their number exceeded 100 police.
In light of the scale of the movement, armed officers were summoned from nearby police stations to conduct patrols in London on Saturday evening, according to the British news agency PA.
The London police are facing a crisis of public confidence, after a series of crimes committed by police officers, including the rape and murder of a 33-year-old woman in March 2021.
A spokesman said that London Police had a “large number” of armed officers deployed across the British capital and in places such as Parliament, diplomatic buildings and airports. “Our priority is public safety,” he added.
London Police Chief Mark Rowley said on Saturday that he had met 70 armed police and said their concern was “understandable.”
(AFP)
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