Hundreds of Metropolitan Police firearms officers have handed in their weapons in protest at the decision to charge a colleague with the murder of rapper Chris Kaba, it has been reported.
Mr Kaba, 24, died in Streatham Hill, south-east London, in September last year after he was shot through an Audi car windscreen.
The marksman accused of his murder, named only as NX121 after an anonymity order was granted by a district judge, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and the Old Bailey on Thursday.
Scotland Yard has confirmed ‘a number of officers have taken the decision to step back from armed duties while they consider their position’, adding: ‘That number has increased over the past 48 hours.’
Earlier on Saturday, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said firearms officers are ‘understandably anxious’ in the wake of the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision.
After meeting with 70 of them ‘to reflect on the events of this week’, he said he understands why many are ‘reflecting on the potential price of such weighty responsibilities’.
He said: ‘They were understandably anxious as they consider how others may assess their split-second decisions years after the event, with the luxury of as much time as they want to do this, and the effect this can have on them and their families.’
Tony Long, a former Met Police firearms officer who was acquitted of murdering Azelle Rodney in 2005, told The Sun: ‘There is widespread concern among officers that NX121 will lose his anonymity.
‘They also feel betrayed by a total lack of support from the senior management of Scotland Yard.
‘Officers within MO19 do not believe they can be expected to fulfil their roles with no support from Scotland Yard.’
The newspaper reports the capital has been left with a ‘skeleton’ armed police capability, with the Yard said to be planning to apply for assistance from counties under mutual aid rules and the military.
A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘Senior officers, including the Commissioner, have been meeting with firearms officers in recent days as they reflect on the CPS decision to charge NX121 with murder.
‘Many are worried about how the decision impacts on them, on their colleagues and on their families. They are concerned that it signals a shift in the way the decisions they take in the most challenging circumstances will be judged.
‘A number of officers have taken the decision to step back from armed duties while they consider their position. That number has increased over the past 48 hours.
‘We are in ongoing discussions with those officers to support them and to fully understand the genuinely held concerns that they have.
‘The Met has a significant firearms capability and we continue to have armed officers deployed in communities across London as well as at other sites including Parliament, diplomatic premises, airports etc.
‘Our priority is to keep the public safe. We are closely monitoring the situation and are exploring contingency options, should they be required.’
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