The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, has accused Green Party leader Zack Polanski of thoughtlessly undermining the confidence of officers tasked with confronting dangerous individuals. This follows Polanski's retweet of a social media post that criticized police actions during the arrest of a suspect after two Jewish people were stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London.
Rowley Defends Officers' Actions
In a letter to Polanski, Rowley described the retweeted post as containing 'inaccurate and misinformed commentary.' The post had alleged that officers were 'repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head' while he was already incapacitated by a stun gun. Rowley praised the officers involved as 'nothing short of extraordinary,' adding that without their efforts, the outcome could have been far worse.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Rowley emphasized that his letter was not an intervention into politics but a defense of operational policing. 'Officers need confidence in confronting these dangerous people, and if an eminent person thoughtlessly steps into that and undermines that, then I'm going to deal with that,' he said.
Context of the Incident
The stabbing incident occurred on Wednesday in Golders Green, a suburb with a significant Jewish population. Officers detained the suspect after he allegedly stabbed two Jewish people. Rowley noted that the officers believed the suspect might be a terrorist and feared he had an explosive device, making the situation extremely tense and dangerous.
'I've sat down with those officers when they're in shock after the event. Those officers need to know they've got my support, and public support, when they do that,' Rowley added. He expressed gratitude for the hundreds of thousands of public comments supporting the officers.
Green Party Responds
A Green Party source responded to the controversy, stating that Polanski had seen the video like everyone else and does not know the full picture. 'It was a very difficult situation for the authorities, but we do need to understand more about the response,' the source said.
Earlier, the Green Party had condemned the stabbing as 'an appalling act of antisemitic violence' and expressed solidarity with the British Jewish community.
Call for More Officers
Rowley also reiterated the Met's need for an additional 300 officers to provide permanent protection for Jewish communities in London. The minister for victims, Alex Davies-Jones, declined to give a timeline for a response but said discussions with the home secretary were ongoing. She agreed with Rowley's warning of a growing 'pandemic' of antisemitism in the UK, calling the current level 'totally intolerable' and demanding direct action.
