Senior armed police officer arrested on suspicion of rape ‘in front of shocked colleagues’
A SENIOR armed police officer has been arrested on suspicion of rape.
The veteran inspector was reportedly taken into custody in front of shocked colleagues at a firearms training base.
A Met Police spokesman said he was held on suspicion of rape and other offences alleged to have been committed over a ten-year period.
The unnamed officer — due to retire soon — was bailed until September pending further inquiries.
He has been suspended from duty.
A source said the officer was arrested at a base in Gravesend, Kent.
He said: “It sent shockwaves through the base as he is a big cheese in the firearms unit.”
The officer is a member of the Met’s MO19 firearms command unit, which provides gun cover across London and deals with terrorist incidents.
A Met spokesperson said: “A serving Met officer has been arrested on suspicion of rape and other offences.
“The officer, an inspector in the Met’s Specialist Firearms Command, was arrested on Monday, 24 June.
“The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2013 and 2023.
“He was bailed to return in mid-September, pending further enquiries.
“He has been suspended from duty.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct were informed by the Met about the arrest of the officer as a matter of course.
A spokesperson for the watchdog said: “We received a mandatory conduct referral from the Metropolitan Police Service on 26 June 2024 following the arrest earlier that week of a Met officer on suspicion of multiple offences.
“After carefully considering the referral we decided, given the officer has already been arrested and interviewed by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards, that the Met should continue with its investigation.”