Farrukh@implausibleblog
Left: Head of Met Police Mark Rowley suggests that Zack Polanski undermines the ability of police officers to work
Right: It seems that Zack Polanski, like many of us, was wondering why police officers kicked a man on the ground five times in the head
I'm not anti police. I've never trained or worked in any part of policing. And I'm grateful every day that we have police men and women who run towards danger to protect all of us in society
I can appreciate fast moving instances where officers have to act on their feet, especially when there's a dangerous person who stabbed two people, and they need to disarm them as quickly as possible
But it's the five kicks to the attackers head which makes many of us wonder if that was an appropriate way to respond
I've muted the video in the first playing so you can hear the commissioner. I've kept the audio in the second playing so you can hear the officers
You can hear the police officers repeatedly shout 'drop the knife' as they're kicking him in the head. You can also see they're holding a taser, which presumably immobilised the attacker which is why he's on the ground not really moving. And when they pull his arm out to get him to drop the knife, his arm is shaking (taser?)
We all rely on the police to keep us safe, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask @metpoliceuk if kicking someone in the head five times is acceptable normal practice
I'd welcome any clarity from any experienced police officer, or directly from the Met, just to reassure the public on the reasons why these actions were taken
I'd also appreciate the integrity of responding with an explanation, not to assume that these questions are meant to demean or diminish the ability of our police to keep us safe
