Millions across the world have come out in solidarity for the late George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, and with protests taking place all over Britain this past week—resulting in the takedown of several slave trader statues—the time has come for this country to deal with its own police brutality.
Last night, UK rap legend Wretch 32 shared some disturbing footage on his socials of his 62-year-old father, Millard Scott, being tasered by police after they entered his home in Tottenham, North London.
Wretch, real name Jermaine Scott Sinclair, shared the footage which saw police enter a residential property, with background noise showing a distressed woman screaming out, "Excuse me, I'm not resisting, don't touch me, social distancing. Please don't touch me, what the hell?"
The footage continues to show the police head towards the stairs, where they then shout, "Police with taser, stay where you are." Seconds later, Mr Scott is seen falling down the stairs after being attacked with the taser.
Following the posting of the footage, Wretch and his dad appeared on ITV News last night. "I've grown up in a household with my dad and my uncle, and I've watched them fight against police brutality my whole life," the rapper said. "I'm 35 now, and we're still here again today. And I now have to have the same conversations that my dad, and my uncle, and my grandparents, and my parents had with me when I was a child. That means there's no progression."
In the same news segment, it states that black people are four times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police—proving there's a deeper issue at play here. Mr Scott says he is "lucky to be alive", adding that "the only people who have invaded our space are the Metropolitan Police. The only people who seem to ignore the guidelines put out there are the Metropolitan Police."
Having reviewed the case, the Met police said that they found "no indication of misconduct" and that the entering of Mr Scott's home was part of "a long-running operation to tackle drugs supply linked to serious violence."
But now the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for an "urgent" investigation by the police watchdog into this incident. "I have asked the Metropolitan Police for an urgent explanation of this distressing incident which is understandably causing considerable concern," Khan said in a post on Twitter. "It is absolutely vital that our police service retains the trust of the communities it serves."
This incident with Wretch 32's dad should be a solid reminder that British policing standards are nowhere near where they need to be.
