‘You can’t defend this!’ Former police superintendent weighs in on ‘two-tier’ row after charges against white man dropped

A former police superintendent has branded the actions of West Midlands Police officers “indefensible” after their arrest of a young white man sparked a furious two-tier police row.

Speaking to GB News, Martin Gallagher reacted to the news that the charges against 22-year-old Cody Harper had been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

In the early hours of June 21, the young man was arrested and charged with assaulting an emergency worker.

Video footage of the event showed the 22-year-old being attacked by two ethnic minority individuals before a female police officer can be seen pushing him into a nearby shop's shutters.

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Mr Harper is then seen swinging his arms at the officer, appearing to strike her in the head, before being handcuffed and taken away.

The video, when shared online, quickly sparked a furious debate over two-tier policing.

However, the CPS chose not to pursue its charges as there was “insufficient evidence” to prosecute him, with some suggesting the video had weakened the idea that he was aware that he was assaulting a police officer.

“You can't defend this,” Mr Gallagher began.

“I've been in similar situations to those cops in the past where the person doesn't know you are the police at the outset and they can obviously react towards you as if you're another attacker.”

He argued officers should have quickly identified themselves before focusing on those responsible for the assault, adding: “In terms of the tactical approach to the incident, the police have got it wrong there.”

The former police superintendent was even more critical of the decision to prosecute Mr Harper despite video footage emerging online.

“Perhaps worse is that after this incident went viral, everyone knew about this incident, police continued.

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“The police have continued with this, knowing that no mens rea (guilty mind) on the part of Cody Harper... knowing they're not going to get a conviction.

“Plus they've given a caution to the individuals who actually started the fight. They have been treated more leniently than Cody Harper. It just... does not make sense”

Mr Gallagher stopped short of accusing police of anti-white racism but said the perception was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

“I'm in no way suggesting that this is racism towards white [people],” he said, adding: “But what I'm saying is that the perception is forming... one might argue reasonably, given the profile of these cases, that that is the case.”

In his mind, a key influence on such training was the negative influence of years of diversity training on police culture.

The former police superintendent claimed officers had been taught that “feelings are more important than facts” when dealing with minority complainants.

He insisted that British policing must return to its guiding principle of enforcing the law “without fear or favour”, adding: “That's exactly what they have to get back to. And that's where we're not at the moment.”

West Midlands Police said it “acknowledge(d) and respect(ed)” the CPS's decision, adding that two men identified as the original attackers had been interviewed under caution and issued with out-of-court disposals after the victim declined to provide a statement.

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