Floyd-style killing could happen in UK, claims former chief constable

A KILLING like that of George Floyd could happen in Britain, the UK’S first black chief constable has warned, as he said people are not being treated with “due courtesy and respect”.

Michael Fuller, who was Kent’s chief constable from 2004 to 2010, said there is no evidence stop and search is effective in reducing crime, pointing out that 80 per cent of people stopped are innocent.

He also said there is a perception in black communities that the whole community is being profiled.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Mr Fuller was questioned about policing in the UK compared to the US, and he said: “We have our problems here; there have been mistakes made and we have had our tragedies.”

Asked if an incident like the killing of Mr Floyd could happen in the UK, he said: “It could happen here. We have had equally appalling incidents.”

Black Lives Matter protests have been held around the world, sparked by the May 25 killing of Mr Floyd, a black man in the US state of Minnesota, when a police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes during an arrest.

Commenting on stop and search, Mr Fuller said: “The evidence does not support that it is effective in controlling or reducing crime. I support stopsearch, but it needs to be of the right people and based on intelligence rather than being indiscriminate.”

He added: “The evidence shows that 80% of people stopped are innocent, which suggests it is not being used efficiently or effectively. Those people can feel inconvenienced, alienated and humiliated.”

Mr Fuller said young people do not feel their human rights and dignity are being respected by the police.

He also commented on the incident in which the Metropolitan Police faced accusations of racial profiling after athlete Bianca Williams and her partner Ricardo dos Santos were pulled from their car in a London street during a stop and search.

“I think from the short video clip the officers look quite menacing,” he said, adding: “I would have thought some of the officers had overreacted.

“If it had been a car full of thugs you could understand it, but it was a couple with a baby. It did not really add up.

“That raises a lot of questions. It raises the question [of] why were they treated so aggressively?”

He added: “People are not being treated with due courtesy and respect.”