Green Party leader Zack Polanski condemned for retweet criticising hero police who took down Golders Green terrorist
Two officers fired Tasers and the suspect, who was wearing a blue puffer jacket and a rucksack, eventually collapsed to the ground
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has come under fire after he retweeted a social media post criticising the police officers who took down the Golders Green attacker.
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Mr Polanski reshared a post on X that was critical of the two police officers who took down the 45-year-old after he stabbed two Jewish men in Golders Green on Wednesday.
The post said: "So essentially his officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by taser."
Bodycam footage, released by the Metropolitan Police, shows a Somali-born British national holding a knife as he advanced towards police officers.
Two officers fired Tasers and the suspect, who was wearing a blue puffer jacket and a rucksack, eventually collapsed to the ground.
They could be heard urgently shouting “get down on the ground” and “take the Taser”.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley will appear on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on Friday, Live from 7am.
Once the suspect was on the ground, one of the officers knelt on top of him, while the other continued to use his Taser and more police surrounded them.
The officer, still on his feet, repeatedly yelled “drop the knife”, “drop the f****** knife” while the suspect struggled on the floor.
A plain-clothed man, possibly a member of the Jewish community security team, eventually wrenched the knife from the suspect’s hand.
A Green Party spokesperson told LBC: "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."
He has been criticised by Conservative and Labour politicians for showing more sympathy with the attacker than with the police officers who were stopping him.
Labour MP Jonathan Hinder said: 'This is so telling. Polanski hates the brave police officers who stopped this. He's more concerned about the antisemitic terrorist with a knife in his hand! Isn't that right Zack Polanski?'
Neil O'Brien, a Conservative MP, added: "As usual, the Greens' sympathies are with the terrorist rather than the brave police officers stopping him."
Labour MP David Taylor said: "Zack Polanski's sympathy for a marauding antisemitic terrorist rather than his victims shows why his Green Party is so dangerous.
"How can anyone watch that video from Golders Green and not feel proud of the way those brave police officers wrestled with the attacker who would not let go of his knife?"
Sir Keir Starmer was met with hecklers as he arrived at a Jewish community ambulance centre in Golders Green on Thursday afternoon.
A group of around 100 people could be heard chanting “Keir Starmer, Jew harmer” and held posters with the same slogan.
They also chanted “Keir Starmer is a traitor” as well as “show your face”.
Sir Keir was due to meet with first responders from Hatzola Northwest, a volunteer group whose ambulances were targeted in an arson attack last month.
The Met Police have been responding to comments on Twitter criticising their actions in detaining the attacker on Wednesday.
They say that it took "true courage" to confront the man.
They wrote on social media: "Our brave officers confronted a man they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent, and who continued to pose a clear threat.
"Using only their training, courage and tasers, they detained him while he continued to try to attack and stab them.
"This took true courage."