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Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has slammed Green Party leader Zack Polanski over his “misinformed” criticism of an arrest made following a horror stabbing in Golders Green.
Mr Polanski was criticised for retweeting a post on X suggesting that the police used excessive force when detaining the suspect in the Golders Green stabbing.
Two Jewish men, aged 76 and 34, were stabbed in Golders Green at around 11.16am after a man with a knife was seen running down the high street, allegedly attempting to stab Jewish people in the area.
The victims both suffered stab wounds in the attack, but are in a stable condition. They have since been named as Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila in a post on X by Chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
Mr Polanski reposted a tweet which, referring to Mark Rowley, read: “So essentially his officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by a Taser.”
Responding to the criticism, Sir Mark said he was “disappointed” by the repost, labelling it “inaccurate” and “misinformed”, saying it had a “casual disregard for the incredibly challenging and dangerous work police officers do to protect the public”.
“It is entirely possible the author of the post you retweeted had direct experience from the scene, or has years of experience handling complex, violent situation[s],” he said.
“Yet I suspect the more likely scenario is that they [are] another armchair critic, who thinks they could do the job, possibly more effectively than the brave officers who successfully detained that individual.
“Those officers are nothing short of extraordinary. They were on the scene within a few minutes, and their actions undoubtedly prevented further injury and saved lives.”Body-worn footage, published by Met Police, showed the moment a suspect was Tasered and arrested following the attack.
The video shows two officers surrounding the man and ordering him to “get down on the ground”. When he refuses, their commands become more urgent, with one officer shouting “taser taser get down on the ground”.
Moments later, the suspect falls to the ground as one officer moves to remove what appears to be a knife from his hand.
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During the struggle, the officer is seen kicking at the weapon while a member of the public steps in to assist.
At the same time, the second officer can be heard shouting “drop the knife, drop the f***ing knife”.
The weapon is then removed and the man is arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The Met Commissioner added: “As I said yesterday the officers confronted a dangerous man, they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent, and who continued to pose a clear threat. They were not armed officers, and they feared he was concealing an explosive device.
“Using only their training, equipment and a substantial level of bravery and courage, they detained him while he continued to try and attack and stab them. Without their efforts to stop him I dread to think what the outcome could have been.
“Apprehending violent and dangerous criminals is a full contact and messy task which may appear shocking to observers with little experience of policing in the real world.
“London’s Jewish communities are scared. They have experienced a series of targeted attacks on the community, and they expect our officers to act, protect them. That is exactly what our officers did yesterday. Your decision to criticise these officers, using your public profile and reach will have a chilling effect.
“Officers need to know that when they act to protect Londoners decisively, they will be supported. Officers know they must be accountable for their use of force and there are processes for this to happen. Your use of your public profile to call their actions into question, hours after a terrorist incident is not the appropriate route.
“Free speech is an important facet of a democratic society. We both agree on that. But against a backdrop of global instability and heightened tensions, the right approach in this situation is to show compassion, lower tensions and not inflame them further by amplifying more ‘us and them’ rhetoric.
“We have significantly stepped up our activity across the capital in recent weeks, and in the hours and days following the attack in Golders Green three weeks ago we have seen communities come together to reject hatred and violence.
“That solidarity matters, and at this moment we need politicians and community leaders to be at the forefront of it, not only condemning the horrific attacks but by taking leadership in confronting antisemitism and permissive rhetoric, lowering tensions and backing those who are willing to step in to protect the public and reassure the public.”
