Met Commissioner Faces Call To Resign

[naomi24]

//The head of the Metropolitan Police should resign over the force's handling of pro-Palestinian protests, a group campaigning against antisemitism has said.

The Met apologised on Friday after an officer described an antisemitism campaigner as "openly Jewish" at a demonstration in London.

Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, had been wearing a kippah skull-cap when he was stopped in the Aldwych area of London and threatened with arrest on 13 April.

Mr Falter was told by police his presence was causing a "breach of peace".

Mr Falter said what happened at the march was a "disgrace" and the Met's response in the aftermath was a "stain" on the force's reputation.

He said Sir Mark should resign or be sacked and he claimed "racists, extremists and terrorist-sympathisers" had been "emboldened" by the Met's "failure to curtail the marches".

Mr Falter said there had been a "surge" in antisemitic crime and he accused the Met of "inertia"//

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4n19j892neo

 

Surely any breach of the peace was created only by those hostile towards him?  Should the Commissioner resign?

[drmorgans]

 

Falter and his associates wanted to walk against the flow of the march. It could have been chaos. The copper tried to offer alternatives but this group were determined to cause problems.

 

[ynnafymmi]

@08.17.Best thing to do is ban these pro-terrorist,anti-semitic marches.As ive said previously if Oswald Mosley came back nowadays he would be leading these pro-Hamas marches through our cities.

[sandyRoe]

Years ago in N Ireland if one group got permission for a march their political opponents would apply to march over the same ground.

The authorities, thinking there might be trouble cancelled both marches.

Was this Jewish contingent trying the same tactic?

[davebro3]

He may not be the best man or woman for the job but calls for his resignation over this issue are simply ludicrous. IMV

[jno]

actually, the guy seems like a deliberate provocateur and the cop sounds patient and polite:

Falter: I’m not being disingenuous. I can do whatever the hell I want. If I want to walk to that pavement [pointing across the road], that’s what I’m going to do, and you’re going to have to arrest me. [Falter then attempts to breach a police cordon.]

Officer: I’d rather not do that.

Falter: Well then do it. I want to get out of here, I want to get across there. [Falter starts pushing against the police.]

Officer: I’d rather not, sir. I’ll tell you what, come with me, let’s get you out of here … You’re going to have to go the long way.

Falter: Why can’t I just walk where I want to walk?

Officer: Because there is a big demonstration. I will walk you out and then you can go … You want to leave, I’m offering you a route out.

[retrocop]

Hmmmm. I etract my previous answer and quite frankly I should know better. There is always two sides of the story and now we read of the wider picture.Itappears the complainant may have been attempting to stir up a bee's nest.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/initial-story-openly-jewish-incident-125434563.html

 

//But a longer version of the same exchange has since emerged on Sky News, showing the officer explaining that his concern was that he had seen Falter acting in a way that led him to believe he was trying to provoke a confrontation with marchers.//

 

[jno]

I don't think the cop's the bad guy here, retro. He was polite, offered to help the guy cross the road (while sensing that he didn't want to be on the other side at all), and tried to avoid conflict. Tip of the hat to him.

The transcript of as much as can be heard is here

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/22/met-officer-antisemitism-campaigner-gideon-falter-longer-video-sky-news