Last week Chris Kaba, a 24-year-old aspiring architect and soon-to-be father, was shot dead by Metropolitan police officers in Streatham, south London. On Monday it was announced that the officer who fired at Chris Kaba – who was unarmed – had been suspended from duty. While the suspension is welcome, the fact that it took a full week after the incident and was as a result of public pressure, only gives more weight to the community’s concerns. Questions are still being asked: will justice be served in a transparent and timely manner, rather than the young man’s family having to endure a painstaking and prolonged investigation process? Will the accountability be thorough, with anyone culpable facing proportionate consequences?
In recent days I have been thinking about these questions, but also reflecting on my own encounters with the police. Even as someone raised in Hackney, east London, when it was more infamous for deprivation and crime than attractive for property prospects, I’ve recently been surprised by just how thick the police presence seems to be in parts of south London. In June this year, I was pulled over by police while dropping off a friend in Peckham. It was the third time within just a couple of months.
