"They were not armed officers and feared he carried an explosive device.
“Without their efforts to stop him I dread to think what the outcome could have been.
“Apprehending violent and dangerous criminals is a full contact and messy task which may appear shocking to observers with little experience of policing in the real world.
“London’s Jewish communities are scared. They have experienced a series of targeted attacks on the community, and they expect our officers to act, protect them. That is exactly what our officers did yesterday. Your decision to criticise these officers, using your public profile and reach will have a chilling effect.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (C) and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (R) speak with members of the Jewish community during a visit to Golders Green, April 30, 2026 (Credit: Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool/Getty Images)Getty Images
The Met released footage on Thursday from the officers' body-worn cameras, in which they can be heard shouting repeatedly for the suspect to "get down on the ground" and to "drop the knife" before he is tasered.
It came after video shared on social media appeared to show the moment of the arrest, in which two officers are seen kicking the man in the head several times before the knife is wrestled away from him.
Defending his decision to write the letter, Rowley said on Times Radio on Friday: “It’s very rare that I would write a letter like that to a political leader, but if somebody starts to compromise my team’s ability to protect Londoners, I need to do something about it.”
He added: “Of course there’s always going to be inaccuracies and sort of nonsense on social media, but I think when someone influential puts something out there which is incorrect and can undermine the confidence on my officers to protect Londoners, [officers] need to see that I’m supporting them to give them that confidence to carry on and do their job.”
Rowley warned that society was now “facing a building pandemic of antisemitism”.
“My problem is, what we’re dealing with in policing, we’re dealing with the symptoms of that disease. We need work upstream to tackle those attitudes in society,” he said.
A series of incidents in recent weeks has seen Jewish people, synagogues, schools and community buildings across the UK targeted in attempted arson attacks and threats, prompting calls for a more robust response from authorities.
In a statement on Friday, Polanski apologised for "sharing a tweet in haste," adding that social media was "not the appropriate channel" for commenting on police actions.
