Rowley condemns Polanski over post on Golders Green terror arrest

Sir Mark Rowley has turned a Golders Green knife attack into a public test of police legitimacy, condemning Green Party leader Zack Polanski for sharing a post that accused officers of abusing a suspect after he had already been Tasered. The Metropolitan Police released body-worn footage showing the arrest, and the video has become the centre of a wider argument over when scrutiny of police force crosses into distortion.

Police responded at 11:16hrs on Wednesday 29 April 2026 after reports that two people had been stabbed in Highfield Avenue, in Golders Green, north London. The Met treated the case as a terrorist incident. The victims were identified by police as Shilo?me Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, 76, and both were taken to hospital. The suspect, a 45-year-old British man later named in media reports as Essa Suleiman, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Police said he also attempted to stab officers who moved in to disarm him.

Rowley said he was “disappointed” that Polanski shared the post, which claimed officers had “repeatedly and violently” kicked a mentally ill man in the head after he was incapacitated by a Taser. The commissioner said Polanski had amplified “inaccurate and misinformed commentary” about officers trying to stop a violent attacker, and warned the post could have a “chilling effect” on police facing dangerous suspects. His comments reflected the central issue in the dispute: whether criticism of force should begin with the suspect’s threat, the officers’ split-second decisions, and the footage that records them, or with a single viral interpretation of the arrest.

The row has widened beyond Polanski. Other politicians and commentators have criticised him, and the Wales Greens leader also publicly rebuked him for sharing the post. The controversy has landed in a tense moment for London policing, with the Met reviewing public-order policing across the country and weighing whether pro-Palestine marches should continue after the terror threat level was raised to severe.

The attack has also renewed concern about security for Jewish communities in north London. In March, a separate arson investigation in Golders Green involving volunteer-led Jewish ambulance vehicles led to multiple arrests and charges, adding to fears that the area has become a repeated target. For British police, the Golders Green case now sits at the intersection of terrorism response, use-of-force standards, and the politics of who gets believed first.