New chief constable of GMP says he ‘absolutely would not’ take the knee

Greater Manchester Police’s new chief constable has weighed in on the act of taking the knee, noting that he ‘absolutely would not’ do it.

Stephen Watson, who was sworn into his new role last month, also noted that he believes ‘woke’ policing has ‘passed a high water mark of tolerance,’ and that members of the public would rather see police officers catching criminals than partaking in symbolic gestures.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he said: “Impartiality is in danger of being upset in our urge and desire to demonstrate that we would like to make common cause from time to time with people whose agenda is very difficult to disagree with.

GMP

“I do not think that things like taking the knee, demonstrating that you have a commonality of view with the protesters that you’re policing is compatible with the standards of service that people require of their police.

“Officers could put themselves in a difficult place because if you demonstrate you’re not impartial, and you then have to make an arrest, how on earth do you assist the courts to come to just judgement as to you having executed your powers of arrest in an appropriately impartial professional manner?

“The public are getting a little bit fed up of virtue-signalling police officers when they’d really rather we just locked up burglars.”

And, when asked if he himself would ever take the knee in uniform, he stated firmly: “No, I absolutely would not.

GMP

“I would probably kneel before the Queen, God, and Mrs. Watson, that’s it.”

This comes after Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford stressed that England players will continue to take the knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement before their matches during the Euros tournament.

He told ITV News after England’s friendly match against Romania last week: “For us, we believe it’s the right thing to do, so we’re going to continue to do that.”