Whilst the Met police appear to be making progress, investigating Sasha’s attempted murder, our concerns are that they are simply using individuals in the community as scapegoats for a crime they potentially did not commit. We have had inside sources inform us that the police have made no door-to-door enquiries in the area following the shooting. We are also concerned that they have made no attempt at this, yet have arrested 5 individuals – after claiming that there were only 4 attackers – on suspicion of attempted murder with no valid evidence.
We find it ridiculous that one of these five men, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder purely due to “affray” and allegedly refusing to stop for the police. How does this warrant an arrest for suspicion of attempted murder on this basis? We feel that whilst the police are making these arrests on invalidated precedence, they could be better spending their time investigating the aspects of this case that could actually direct them to the criminals responsible.
We also feel as though arresting these individuals on this basis and highlighting that they were carrying drugs with intent to supply, is subliminally suggesting that this is a gang related crime as opposed to an attempt of murder. This majorly concerns us as we cannot allow for more individuals in our communities to fall as victims of crime and not get the justice they deserve, whilst other members of the community are getting accused of crimes they did not commit purely because they fit the “profile”. We urge the police to take responsibility, take this crime seriously and investigate adequately.
Charles Gordon from Taking the Initiative Party has commented, "we have seen numerous occasions in the past where police have fallen under pressure to produce results, leading them to go out and arrest anyone in order to look busy. A couple of examples of this is the Guildford 4 case, Paul Blackburn’s case and many more; one of the main things Sasha stands for in a powerful way is injustice. The statement I would have expected to hear from the police would have been ‘following our investigations and door-to-door enquiries we have made 5 arrests’. However, hearing someone was stopped on a stop and search and then arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, does not sound plausible and is majorly concerning. Sasha is a mother, an activist, an entrepreneur and a community leader; she is a rising star. Our primary focus is on Sasha’s well-being and her recovery."
Although we all want to see the attackers brought to justice, we do not want potentially innocent people charged with attempted murder and becoming part of the statistics, subjects to the injustices that Sasha has been fighting against. It is vital that the police do their job and not fall under pressure, attempting to find scapegoats from the community Sasha has fought so hard to protect.
