London Police Face Calls For Inquiry After Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Black Man

Hours into his new job, London’s most senior police officer is facing calls to undertake a full inquiry into the state of the force after the fatal shooting of an unarmed Black man.

The same day Mark Rowley began his role as commissioner at the Metropolitan Police Service, an officer was suspended, a week after shooting and killing 24-year-old Chris Kaba. Although a criminal investigation has been opened into the shooting, the Runnymede Trust, a non-profit advocating for racial equality, said the killing of the unarmed rapper is the latest in a line of scandals and called for an in-depth inquiry.

Rowley inherits an organization beset by a string of damaging scandals that have shaken public trust in the UK’s biggest police force. His predecessor quit after an investigation revealed misogyny, racism and homophobia were rife among its officers, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had lost confidence in her leadership. The previous year, protests erupted around the country after a serving police officer abducted and murdered Sarah Everard.

“Chris Kaba is the second Black man to have died at the hands of the Met in just three months. Both were unarmed,’’ the Runnymede Trust said in a statement on Twitter. Rowley “takes his place at the head of a broken organization that demands immediate action to eradicate the contagion of systemic prejudice,” the statement said.

Police forces across the country have attempted to address their fractured relationship with Black Britons. National Police Chiefs’ Council released a plan earlier this year to “become an anti-racist police service,” and tackle disparities such as Black people being almost nine times more likely to be stopped and searched than White people.