Between 2004 and 2013, officers in Britain and Wales discharged their firearms fewer than 10 times a year, Witte reported. (In the United States, 963 people were shot and killed by police in 2016, according to The Washington Post’s Fatal Force database. Of those, 233 were black.)
Still, British authorities found that officers are more likely to use force against blacks and other minorities. According to the Guardian, black people are three times as likely as white people to be shocked with a stun gun by British police.
In Britain, incidents involving the use of force can be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which handles the complaints and compiles data. The IPCC found that uses of force against blacks and other minorities accounted for 29 percent of its referrals in the past five years, although that group accounts for just 14 percent of the British population.
One of the ways authorities sought to eradicate those disparities was by forming Independent Advisory Groups.
In Bristol, Adunbi had been a founding member.
The group’s mission is to advise officers “on policing issues that may cause concern to local people and communities,” according to the Association of Chief Police officers. In particular, police familiarize members of the IAG with protocols for when officers use force.
“To know that one of the [founding] members of the Independent Advisory Group, which was created some years ago to improve the relationship between the Afro-Caribbean community and the constabulary, and to be treated like this, it’s difficult,” Adunbi told the Guardian.
He was charged with assaulting a constable in the execution of duty and using threatening or abusing behavior, according to the Telegraph. The charges have been dropped.
In a statement, Chief Police Superintendent Jon Reilly said the incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Doing so is not a requirement, Reilly said, but “we want to be as open and transparent as possible.”
Reilly said he had met with Adunbi and the two “had a constructive conversation.”
“We’re aware of concerns within the local community, and we take these concerns very seriously. We would like to answer their questions, but we need to be mindful that an investigation is ongoing, which makes that difficult.
“However, I would like to reassure them that the incident was captured on the officers’ Body Worn Video cameras.”
Adunbi told the Guardian that he had gone through a similar ordeal with police in 2007, another case of mistaken identity. Police confirmed to the newspaper that Adunbi had been “awarded compensation” after an incident with officers.
A Facebook group has already sprouted called “Prosecute Judah Adunbi Attackers.”
Article Appeared @https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/22/british-cops-used-a-taser-on-a-black-man-they-thought-was-a-robber-he-was-their-race-relations-adviser/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_wv-taser-1009am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.8934e1ac0798