The chairman of the Police Federation has hit out at Bristol police chiefs for not intervening during the toppling of the Edward Colston statue during yesterday's Black Lives Matter protest.
John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation which represents all officers in England and Wales, has criticised Avon and Somerset Police for its decision not to intervene in the protest when a statue of a slave trader was torn down.
Protesters tore down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol and threw it into the harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest.
Widespread protests have broken out in response to the death of George Floyd who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis.
African American George Floyd was pinned to the ground by a white police officer during an arrest and died after the officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.
The statue of slave trader Edward Colston was inscribed with a tribute to one of the "most virtuous and wise sons of their city".
While many have welcomed the removal of the statue, Mr Apter criticised the policing on the day, according to the Liverpool Echo.
John Apter told BBC Breakfast: "To have no police presence there I think sent quite a negative message.
"I understand there has been a lot of controversy about this statue for many years - so the question is why didn't those in the local authority consider taking it down long before rather than waiting for these actions?"
He added: "I am a police officer so I don't support this lawlessness we saw where this statue was ripped down and rolled down the street and pushed into the river because that is not how we do things.
"I understand the anger but not to have a police presence there was something - I have been a police officer for 27 years - that was a decision I have not seen taken before."
Police stepped back as protesters tore the statue down and there will be an investigation into the incident.
But some have defended the actions of protesters and their reasoning.
Policing minister Kit Malthouse said there would need to be a “post-mortem” into how the anti-racism protests across the weekend were enforced.
When asked whether police should have looked to have stopped the Colston statue from being toppled in Bristol, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I know if they (police) possibly can prevent crime taking place by intervening in a public order situation they will, but obviously it is a difficult situation for frontline commanders and no doubt there will be a post-mortem, if you like, of the public order situation in Bristol, and indeed elsewhere in the country, to make sure lessons can be learned.”
For news tailored to your local area, powered by In Your Area:
But Mr Malthouse indicated that it would not have been practical to arrest all those who took part for breaking coronavirus-related restrictions.
He added: “We did say right at the start that this was against the regulations.
“But obviously the reality was that people were going to come anyway.
“Other than arresting whatever it was – 15,000 people in London and many more elsewhere – managing the protest was I think the best call given the strength of feeling that was running.”
Meanwhile, on Good Morning Britain, David Lammy MP asked why such statues were erected and queried the message it sent to the public.
He said: "There may be a role for statues such as this in museums where there's proper context... but when we put statues up, we are saying these are figures who should be beloved."
He added: "The bigger question is why is this not in the curriculum? Why is this not understood?"
