Shots Fired at London Police as Met Reveals over 7,000 Assaults on Officers in One Year

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 22: A Police car is seen parked at the gates to Greenwich Park on
Peter Summers/Getty Images
Victoria Friedman

Scotland Yard has described how a shooting could have nearly turned into a murder investigation after an unknown assailant discharged a firearm several times in the direction of London Metropolitan police officers.

The Met revealed on Friday that ten plainclothes officers patrolling Grahame Park Estate in Colindale, Barnet, North London approached six men at around 7 pm on Thursday after a report of a large gathering, likely in contravention of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

The men fled, and the officers pursued on foot, with one of the suspects firing several times at the unarmed officers, in what was described as an act of “extreme violence”.

Thankfully, no officers were injured; however, the Met said in the statement that “incidents of this type can have long-term physical and psychological effects on officers”.

Police are appealing for information from the public. Scotland Yard revealed that in the past 12 months, Met Police officers had been assaulted 7,140 times — an increase of 19.1 per cent on the same period the year before.

Investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Gemma Alger said of the incident: “The message is clear that any levels of violence against our colleagues who serve the public and keep our communities safe will not be tolerated. We are committed to finding those involved and fully investigating the circumstances.

“The repercussions of this split-second action could have been grave – we could potentially have been dealing with a murder investigation. Nobody should go to work fearing that they may never return home.”

British police forces have faced an increasing threat of violence from members of the public, particularly during the past year whilst policing protests attended by far-left activists.

A report from August 2020 revealed that London police had seen a 38 per cent increase in attacks on officers between May and July, compared to the same period the year before. The Met said that policing protests, including Black Lives Matter demonstrations, “contributed” to the rise.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.