Which is it to be: firearms officers offered unique protection in court after having used their powers of lethal force to wrongfully take someone’s life, or employees of the state facing death threats for protecting the public? There is no simple answer to the question of whether Yvette Cooper was correct to allow police officers facing prosecution to remain anonymous until convicted. This follows the trial and acquittal of Martyn Blake, the police officer who shot and killed Chris Kaba in 2022.
“There are few moments more serious” than when someone acting in the name of the state takes the life of one of its citizens, writes Danny Shaw. A police officer suspected of having wrongfully killed someone should be treated no differently to any other person having to defend themselves in court. Will we find ourselves in a situation in which, as some have argued, police officers will be treated as above the law? “Nothing could be more damaging” for police-community relations, says Diane Abbott, than a widespread feeling that police officers have impunity.
But there is another side to this argument. Firearms officers should not be comparable to, say, dangerous individuals who commit murder; armed police go into situations on behalf of the state in which they knowingly put themselves at acute risk to protect the public. Is it right that they might then face further abuse and threats (as Blake and his family have) due to having their name made public, even before they are found to be guilty? Anonymity until the point of conviction is the best way to protect officers and their families.
I am in no position to give a convincing answer to the question of whether police officers should be given anonymity when facing prosecution. The state asks firearms officers to put their lives on the line to protect the public, but does this mean that officers should be treated any differently when their actions cause others to lose their lives?
“Armed police officer -London, England-29April2011” by John Pannell from Watford, UK is licensed under CC BY 2.0.