In September 2022, more than a hundred police officers decided to lay down their weapons following the indictment of a police officer accused of fatally shooting Chris Capa, a 24-year-old black man, according to BBC television. Racism in the London Police.
According to London’s Metropolitan Police, police officers laid down their weapons because they were concerned about the impact the allegation could have on the professional class.
In response to this decision, the Ministry of Defense offered the support of the British Army to act as a substitute for police officers, as a contingency measure and only if necessary.
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman has already expressed her “full support” for armed agents who “risk their lives for the safety of all,” Agence France-Presse wrote.
Chris Capa, 24, was shot dead by a police officer on September 5 after being chased by a patrol car in south-west London. The man, who was unarmed, was seriously injured and died in hospital that night.
The family called for an inquest into the death, questioning in a statement whether Chris Capa would have died “if he wasn’t black”. The officer who fired the shot has been suspended and is now charged with murder.