WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
November 11 2024
WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
Search
Close this search box.

Chris Kaba family say Met too slow to suspend officer

Chris Kaba family say Met too slow to suspend officer

The decision to suspend the officer involved in the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba has been criticised by the family for lacking ‘urgency’.  His cousin, Jefferson Bosela, told the BBC the officer should have been suspended as soon as the homicide investigation was launched at the end of last week. ‘We welcome that decision but, to be honest, the second a criminal investigation was opened he should have been suspended from there,’ Bosela told Radio 4’s Today programme.

Bosela has also set up a fundraising page (available to view here) with a target for raising £50,000 to cover the costs of ‘organising protests, fundraising events, and financially supporting the campaigners taking unpaid leave to dedicate themselves to the cause’. Any remaining proceeds ‘will go towards the Kaba family during this difficult period.’

Earlier this week, the Met’s assistant commissioner Amanda Pearson announced that the firearms officer involved in Kaba’s shooting had been suspended from duty. ‘This decision has been reached following careful consideration of a number of factors, including the significant impact on public confidence, and in light of the Independent Office for Police Conduct announcing a homicide investigation,’ she said.

There was a backlash from colleagues in the Met who reportedly threatened to hand in their guns in protest over the decision. According to The Telegraph, officers serving in the firearm command unit planned to notify their bosses that they would no longer carry weapons whilst on patrol and would ‘step back from the role’ after the Queen’s funeral. ‘There is real anger in the ranks about this,’ said one source. ‘They are all volunteers and they are increasingly feeling ‘what is the point of doing this if our bosses do not have our backs’. “This is a decision that has been taken to placate public anger pure and simple.’

Following the Met’s announcement, the staff association representing more than 30,000 police officers in London confirmed that they were supporting ‘a brave firearms colleague and their family’. In a statement posted to Twitter, the Metropolitan Police Federation said: ‘Being a firearms officer in London is one of the world’s toughest jobs. Officers – volunteers – know the responsibility/accountability that comes with it and deserve our support. Ill-informed commentary from those in positions of power following any tragic incident is unwarranted.’ This statement of support came after emergency workers accused the mental health charity Mind of ‘slamming the door’ in their faces and ‘losing their neutrality and objectivity’ in their tweets about Kaba’s shooting.

Elsewhere, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that he ‘fully supported’ the new Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s decision to suspended the officer involved in the shooting. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Streatham, who is supporting Kaba’s family, commented: ‘The Met have finally suspended the officer who fired the shot that killed Chris Kaba. It shouldn’t have taken public pressure to make this happen.’

Related Posts