Backlash as officers are warned of trouble if they refuse to take the knee
A POLICE force has angered officers by warning that they may face consequences if they decline to ‘take the knee’ at anti-racism protests.
Hertfordshire Constabulary said those who chose not to make the solidarity gesture ‘may become the focus of the protesters’ attention’.
The advice was issued during a recent operational briefing and points out that, when officers kneel down – joining in the symbolic stance of the Black Lives Matter movement – it ‘has a very positive reaction on the protest groups’.
But one senior detective told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s absurd. Will officers be expected to make similarly appeasing gestures at political events – far-Right protests, for instance?’
Former Home Secretary David Blunkett is among politicians who have warned that the action risks drawing police into politics and could lead to false accusations of racism being levelled at any who refuse to join in.
‘I am concerned that the gesture of kneeling, though prompted by the best instincts, might give the perception of undermining the role of the police in such situations,’ he said last week. ‘They are there to ensure a safe demonstration, not to make political statements.’
He added that many people ‘may have been left deeply uneasy at the sight of police kneeling before a protesting crowd’, saying: ‘ If they attend rallies in their own time, I would have no problem with police making symbolic gestures of solidarity with anti-racists. But it is a different matter when they don their uniform’.
Hertfordshire Police faced criticism of its handling of a Black Lives Matter protest in the town of Hoddesdon last week where hecklers cut short a peaceful demonstration by yelling racist abuse. In a video widely shared online, one man was heard shouting ‘Go back to Africa’ at protesters.
Police stationed themselves between the two groups as tensions escalated, but many expressed anger that no arrests were made. The force has now launched an investigation.
People across the world have been encouraged to ‘take the knee’ as part of a Stand Up To Racism campaign, following the recent death of George Floyd at the hands of US police. Following his death, Metropolitan Police officers were pictured kneeling outside Downing Street in solidarity with protesters.
Scotland Yard initially said officers can kneel when it is safe and does not interfere with their duties. It later told its officers they should not kneel at public order events for their own safety, but that at other times it was a personal choice.
But one Met officer, Inspector
Richard Berns, broke ranks and declared he would not get involved in politics by taking the knee.
Alan Pughsley, the Chief Constable of Kent, is believed to be the first top-ranking officer to make the gesture since protests began.
Hertfordshire Police said of the kneeling advice: ‘Officers working at events involving the Black Lives Matters movement are free to demonstrate their personal support by “taking the knee” should they wish.
‘The force has not sought to either encourage or discourage this action which remains a personal choice.’
‘Many will feel uneasy about police kneeling before a protesting crowd’