Labour Party home secretary Yvette Cooper has followed the acquittal of Chris Kaba’s police officer killer, Martyn Blake, with a series of proposals that are set to protect cops even further. Cooper told MPs:
When officers act in the most dangerous situations on behalf of the state it is vital that those officers and their families are not put in further danger during any subsequent legal proceedings, so we will therefore introduce a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial following a police shooting in the course of their professional duties, up to the point of conviction.
That means that if officers are on trial for opening fire on members of the public, they can remain anonymous until, or if, they are convicted. In other words, police are being given more protections to act with impunity.
State control
Inquest, the only charity in England and Wales that campaigns around state death, has been supporting Chris Kaba’s family since his killing. Its director Deborah Coles warned that the plans for anonymity were “cynical”:
The cynical attempts to protect the police from the rule of law must be rigorously resisted, as this is in effect giving them immunity.
Given the disquiet about police killings, the use of force and cultures of racism and misogyny within the police, this will be seen as calculated attempts to evade scrutiny and accountability and further erode public confidence.
The Guardian reported on Cooper’s plans:
The home secretary said she wanted to ensure officers have the confidence to use their powers while also reassuring communities that police are not above the law.
But what are these plans doing, if not placing police above the law? Who else gets to retain anonymity whilst working in a profession renowned for institutional racism and corruption?
Secret operations
Feminist group Speak Out Sister pointed out:
Accused people aren't regularly given anonymity. The police aren't the secret service and shouldn't operate in secret. Any accused person or even witness may be in danger from revenge attacks, police aren't unique in that. https://t.co/EYQjOw9i2m
— SpeakOutSister (@speakoutsister) October 24, 2024
Just this year, the head of Britain’s police forces admitted that policing is institutionally racist. After the murder of Sarah Everard by cop Wayne Couzens a landmark report found, as the Guardian reported:
The Metropolitan police is broken and rotten, suffering collapsing public trust and is guilty of institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia, an official report has said.
The Daniel Morgan murder inquiry also found the Metropolitan police to be institutionally “corrupt.”
And Yvette Cooper’s response to this rotting death system? To announce plans to keep deadly cops anonymous. At this point, British policing isn’t even considering the merits of reform versus abolishing the police altogether. Cooper’s actions show that the state is ready and willing to protect the tools of state control.
Yvette Cooper: double standards
Academic Dr. Rizwaan Sabir pointed out the double standards:
All those who are charged with a crime in the UK can be publicly named but police officers who have shot somebody will remain anonymous unless they're convicted. A different legal standard is at play when it comes to policing those in positions of power. https://t.co/gmz1UUrB9v
— Dr. Rizwaan Sabir (@RizwaanSabir) October 23, 2024
This is exactly how the Labour government is choosing to respond to police racism, misogyny, and corruption. In the week where Chris Kaba’s killer goes free, where media outlets breathlessly report on Kaba’s own history of violence as though that absolves his murderer, the home secretary has shown that she’s on the side of power, not people.
It’s a disgrace that Chris Kaba’s family are suffering through another injustice at the hands of routinely deadly cops. Recent data from the Independent Office for Police Conduct revealed what Inquest called “the highest number of deaths in and following police custody recorded for 17 years.” Data company Statista show a steady trend of police officers killing people, year upon year.
Make no mistake, just as historical injustices that eventually turn into inquiries – of Stephen Lawrence, Daniel Morgan, this won’t be the last we hear of Chris Kaba and his family’s search for justice. Yvette Cooper and Labour have firmly placed themselves on the side of coercive state control.
How’s all that for the lesser evil?
Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Reuters
