It took the jury at the Old Bailey just 2 hours and 59 minutes to find the police officer who took the fatal shot which killed Chris Kaba not guilty of murder.
The speed with which they reached their decision tells us plenty about what the jury thought: the officer should never have been on trial.
British police officers are the most scrutinised in the world. But the level of scrutiny – and how the Independent Office for Police Conduct and Crown Prosecution Service operate – is having a chilling effect on their willingness to take on the most dangerous criminals.
Officers are largely unarmed – less than 4% in England and Wales are authorised to carry a firearm. They are volunteers, highly trained and, as the data shows, restrained.
Police arrest dangerous and armed suspects safely every single day. In the year to March 2024 officers in England and Wales were deployed on 17,589 occasions, yet in only two of them was a police firearm intentionally discharged.
Officers expect to be held to account for their decisions, particularly when it comes to firearms. But time and again we have seen officers hauled through investigations, independent inquiries and prosecutions for doing their job to keep us safe.
In recent years the number of stop-and-searches has plummeted. One of the main causes is that officers no longer have confidence they will be protected from malicious complaints. Only the criminal minority will benefit.
The Government needs to pick a side – the criminals and activists who support them or the police who keep us safe.
David Spencer is the Head of Crime and Justice for Policy Exchange a former Detective Chief Inspector