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THE degree of police brutality seen in the killing of George Floyd in the the United States could be seen in Britain, the nation’s first black chief constable has warned.
People being stopped and searched by police are not being treated with “due courtesy and respect” and they can feel “alienated and humiliated,” former Kent chief constable Michael Fuller told the Guardian today.
Mr Fuller said that there is no evidence to prove that stop-and-search is effective in tackling crime, pointing out that 80 per cent of those stopped are innocent.
Asked if an incident like the killing of Mr Floyd could happen in Britain, he said: “It could happen here. We have had equally appalling incidents.”
Stand Up to Racism co-convener Weyman Bennett told the Star that there have already been publicised cases of deaths in custody and police using dangerous restraints such as chokeholds.
Black people account for 3 per cent of the British population but 8 per cent of deaths in custody.
Mr Bennett described the use of stop-and-search, reintroduced by former home secretary Theresa May, as the Tories’ “fake solution” that promotes “double standards” and stereotyping.
He added that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s special adviser Dominic Cummings and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove would never get stopped and searched — even though they had admitted to breaking the law.
Mr Bennett pointed out that recommendations made in the Macpherson Inquiry report, which concluded 20 years ago that the police is institutionally racist, have yet to be implemented.
He said: “The real criminals and terrorists, like the fascists, are the ones that should be targeted.
“They carry out attacks and are not seen as a threat while they are a threat to all of us.”