Sir Mark Rowley took the job of Metropolitan police commissioner knowing that his task was to restore public trust, which has fallen precipitously. Despite strengths such as counter-terrorism, the Met was placed in special measures in June for “systemic failings” in fighting crime and serving victims, with tens of thousands of offences going unrecorded. Its legitimacy is under as severe scrutiny as its performance, and may be still harder to restore. One week before Sir Mark was sworn in on Monday, 24-year-old Chris Kaba was killed by officers in Streatham, south London: the fourth black man since 2005 shot dead by police when he was not holding a weapon, following Azelle Rodney, Mark Duggan and Jermaine Baker. While the father-to-be was driving a car (not registered to him) which had been linked to an earlier firearms incident, no gun was found at or near the scene.
His death is now the subject of an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) homicide investigation, after a review of the early evidence; all those involved should cooperate fully, though previous cases do not inspire confidence. The officer responsible has, appropriately, been suspended from frontline duties, though colleagues have reportedly threatened to hand in their weapons in response. The defensiveness may be comprehensible; their job is inherently difficult and dangerous. But it is not acceptable. Putting down their guns would be a dereliction of duty and a threat to the rule of law. Though the IOPC is investigating Mr Kaba’s death, questions remain for the Met itself, including why it took 11 hours to inform his family of his death.
