LONDON: London’s police force said Sunday that some officers are refusing to conduct armed patrols after a colleague was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man.
A metropolitan police marksman was charged Wednesday over the September 2022 death of Chris Kaba, 24. Kaba was killed after officers in an unmarked vehicle pursued and stopped the car he was driving. He was struck by a single bullet fired through the windshield as he sat in the car.
The metropolitan police force said Sunday that officers were concerned that the murder charge “signals a shift in the way the decisions they make in the most challenging circumstances will be judged.” The BBC said more than 100 officers had turned in their firearm permits and that police from neighbouring forces were called in to help patrol London on Saturday night. Home secretary Suella Braverman said she would review armed policing to ensure that armed officers “have the confidence to do their jobs”. “In the interest of public safety, they have to make split-second decisions under extraordinary pressures,” Braverman posted on X. “They mustn’t fear ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties.”
A metropolitan police marksman was charged Wednesday over the September 2022 death of Chris Kaba, 24. Kaba was killed after officers in an unmarked vehicle pursued and stopped the car he was driving. He was struck by a single bullet fired through the windshield as he sat in the car.
The metropolitan police force said Sunday that officers were concerned that the murder charge “signals a shift in the way the decisions they make in the most challenging circumstances will be judged.” The BBC said more than 100 officers had turned in their firearm permits and that police from neighbouring forces were called in to help patrol London on Saturday night. Home secretary Suella Braverman said she would review armed policing to ensure that armed officers “have the confidence to do their jobs”. “In the interest of public safety, they have to make split-second decisions under extraordinary pressures,” Braverman posted on X. “They mustn’t fear ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties.”
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