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Some police officers in Britain’s biggest police force are stepping back from armed duties as a protest after a member of the Metropolitan Police Service was charged with murder last week in the fatal 2022 shooting of an unarmed Black man.

The Metropolitan Police said on Monday that some officers were no longer carrying firearms “while they consider their position.” In a dramatic move, the police arranged a contingency plan with the army to provide “routine counterterrorism contingency support,” should it be needed. But by Monday afternoon, the police said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/1706289367684124861" target=_blank>statement</a> that a “sufficient” number of armed officers had returned that they no longer needed backup from the British military.

The BBC, citing unnamed sources, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66909729" target=_blank>reported</a> that more than 300 armed officers over the weekend had turned in their weapons permits. It was unclear how many of those officers had since returned to normal duties. The Washington Post could not independently verify the figures.

The Metropolitan Police said that the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to charge an officer with murder “signals a shift in the way the decisions [that police] take in the most challenging circumstances will be judged.”

The incident comes amid broader trust problems for the Metropolitan Police. The force has come under heavy criticism for the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/02/london-metro-police-misogyny-report/" target=_blank>behavior</a> of some of its officers and for the way it investigated government parties during pandemic lockdowns. Public trust took an especially big hit after a serving London officer was convicted of murdering <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/couzens-everard-metropolitan-police-sentence-/2021/09/30/7b7eb7dc-2144-11ec-a8d9-0827a2a4b915_story.html" target=_blank>Sarah Everard</a>, a marketing executive.

In comparison with the United States, a relatively small proportion of police officers in Britain carry firearms. The vast majority of officers in London patrol with batons and pepper spray. Those who do carry a gun require a special<b> </b>license to do so and are deployed only in limited situations.

London Metropolitan Police’s first female commissioner resigns amid scandals

The police officer, who has not been named, was charged Wednesday in the fatal Sept. 5, 2022, shooting of Chris Kaba. The 24-year-old, who was shot in South London, was driving an Audi with a license plate number linked to a “firearms incident” from the previous day, according to the <a href="https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/statement-read-out-opening-inquest-death-chris-kaba" target="_blank">Independent Office for Police Conduct</a>, which oversees England’s police forces.

An unmarked police vehicle followed Kaba until around 10 p.m., when he turned onto a road where a marked police vehicle was waiting, according to the office. Officers approached the Audi and “contact was made” between the Audi and police vehicles, the office stated. An officer standing in front of the Audi fired one shot through the vehicle’s windshield, striking Kaba.

Kaba was taken to a London hospital, where was declared dead at 12:16 a.m. on Sept. 6, 2022, according to the office.

Kaba’s family members and attorneys said that <a href="https://www.hickmanandrose.co.uk/chris-kaba-family-call-for-urgent-action/" target=_blank>he was unarmed</a>. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-62940371" target=_blank>Rallies in support of Kaba</a> erupted across London. Days after the fatal shooting, the Metropolitan Police <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/12/met-officer-who-shot-chris-kaba-suspended-from-frontline-duties" target=_blank>suspended the officer</a> who fired the weapon. After the officer was charged on Wednesday, he made bail and is expected to stand trial next year.

Daniel Machover, an attorney representing Kaba’s family, <a href="https://www.inquest.org.uk/chris-kaba-cps-decision" target=_blank>said in a statement</a> Wednesday that the charge brought relatives “some hope that justice may be served for Chris.”

“Over the past year, Chris’ family have shown extraordinary dignity and strength as they have demanded answers about how Chris was killed, and sought justice and accountability for him,” Machover said.

Do Britain’s gunless bobbies provide answers for America’s police?

The Metropolitan Police employs about <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/authorised-firearms-officers-1" target=_blank>2,600 firearms officers</a>, a small fraction of the more than 34,000 officers employed by the service.

Fatal shootings involving a police officer are relatively rare in Britain. <a href="https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/iopc-publishes-figures-deaths-during-or-following-police-contact-202223" target="_blank">According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct</a>, there were three in the year leading to March 31, 2023 — one more than the number recorded in the previous year.

On Friday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley <a href="https://news.met.police.uk/news/commissioner-reflects-following-discussions-with-firearms-officers-472649" target="_blank">said</a> his officers were “understandably anxious” as they considered how their future actions on duty could be judged.

Justin Tallis

“When officers have the levels of uncertainty and worry I saw in my colleagues today, simply going in and doing their jobs not knowing what incidents are ahead of them is courageous,” Rowley said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters Monday morning that police officers needed certainty about the legal powers they have.

“Our firearms officers do an incredibly difficult job. They are making life-or-death decisions in a split second to keep us safe, and they deserve our gratitude for their bravery,” he said. “Now it is important when they are using these legal powers that they do so with clarity.”

Home Secretary Suella Braverman <a href="https://twitter.com/SuellaBraverman/status/1705854919171768585" target=_blank>wrote on X</a> — formerly known as Twitter — that she would launch a review to ensure police “have the confidence to do their jobs while protecting us all.”

In a <a href="https://news.met.police.uk/documents/commissioner-letter-to-home-secretary-14-september-2023-dot-pdf-434982" target=_blank>letter addressed to Braverman</a> on Sunday, Rowley wrote that a review was “long overdue.” He said the police needed to be held to the “highest standards,” but he also urged the home secretary to “let the police police.”

“Accountability matters, but we should not have allowed ourselves to develop a system where police officers get investigated for safely pursuing suspects, just because the suspect acts recklessly and as a result injures themselves or someone else,” he wrote. “This is unfair on our officers and discourages them from chasing down criminals.”

<i>Leo Sands in London contributed to this report.</i>

University of Maryland, BA in multiplatform journalism

Kyle Melnick is a reporter on The Washington Post's General Assignment desk, where he covers national and international news.

Kyle Melnick

Queen's University, BA in psychology 

London School of Economics, MSc in organizational psychology

Columbia University, MS in journalism 

Karla Adam is a London correspondent for The Washington Post, which she joined in 2006. She is a former president of the Association of American Correspondents in London.

Karla Adam

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Some Metropolitan Police give up guns after officer charged in Chris Kaba death

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Britain Police Murder Charge

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