Green Party leader criticized for defending police actions in Golders Green arrest

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has come under growing criticism after sharing a social media post condemning the actions of police officers who arrested the suspect in the Golders Green attack. Two officers Tasered and kicked the suspect in the head while trying to prise a knife from his hand after he had stabbed two Jewish men in north London on Wednesday. Polanski reposted a post on X which said: "Essentially his officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser." Green Party deputy leader Rachel Millward also appeared to distance herself from the comments, praising the officers as "brave", and adding the incident would have been "beyond terrifying". Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said he is "proud" of the officers, and said in a letter to Polanski on Thursday he was "disappointed" the politician had amplified "inaccurate and misinformed commentary". He told BBC Breakfast on Friday that the use of "extreme force" by his officers in this circumstance was "completely reasonable". He added that the letter was forthright and he had not written it lightly, but that he needed to step in because an eminent person reinforced criticism "that will undermine confidence in my officers to act in the protection of citizens". On Thursday, Sir Mark said that the officers had not been armed and feared the suspect had been carrying an explosive device. Even after being Tasered, he "refused to show his hands, was violent and continued to pose a clear threat", the force said. The Met also released footage from the officers' body-worn cameras, in which they can be heard shouting repeatedly for the suspect to "get down on the ground" before he is Tasered, and then "drop the knife". It came after video shared on social media appeared to show the moment of the arrest, in which the officers can be seen kicking the man in the head several times in the struggle to wrest the knife from him. In a statement on Thursday evening, a Green Party spokesperson said: "Zack has seen the video like everyone else - and doesn't know the full picture and knows it was a very difficult situation for the authorities - but we do need to understand more about the response." Polanski has not made any public remarks himself on Sir Mark's letter, and he has declined further requests for comment on Friday. Regarding the incident, a spokesperson from the Independent Office for Police Conduct said on Thursday evening: "We received a mandatory referral from the Met this afternoon, which relates to injuries reportedly sustained by the man who was arrested following yesterday's attacks in Golders Green." Sir Mark said the author of the post criticising the officers' actions could have "direct experience from the scene" but suspected "the more likely scenario is that they [were] another armchair critic". "Those officers are nothing short of extraordinary," he wrote. "They were on the scene within a few minutes, and their actions undoubtedly prevented further injury and saved lives." Sir Mark said that "apprehending violent and dangerous criminals is a full contact and messy task which may appear shocking to observers with little experience of policing in the real world". "Officers need to know that when they act to protect Londoners decisively, they will be supported." He continued that, against the current backdrop, the right approach was not to inflame tensions further by "amplifying more 'us and them rhetoric'". Dame Louise Ellman, joint chair of the Board of Deputies and a former Labour MP, told BBC Newsnight that Sir Mark's comments were "highly unusual", but the Green Party leader had shown "gross misjudgement" with social media activity. "I think that he has found an area that seems to give him popularity, at least for the short term, and I think he should be very, very careful in what he's peddling," she added.