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CC of Avon and Somerset will not renew his contract.
PCC elections next month too.
Interesting reflections from the man himself, he must have seen a few changes over the years.
The Times:
CC of Avon and Somerset will not renew his contract.
PCC elections next month too.
Interesting reflections from the man himself, he must have seen a few changes over the years.
The Times:
The chief constable of Avon and Somerset is stepping down after his force was criticised over its handling of protests and Bristol suffered its worst rioting in a decade.
Andy Marsh, who has led the force since 2016, said that he would not seek an extension to his contract when it runs out in the summer.
Marsh told senior colleagues last summer that he feared for his future in the job after sustained public criticism of him when officers stood back as protesters tore down the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston as part of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and threw it into Bristol’s harbour.
The statue was later recovered. Marvin Rees, the mayor of Bristol, said he could not condone criminal damage, but described the statue as a “personal affront” to him and toppling it as an “act of historical poetry”.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, was said to have had a “firm” conversation with Marsh afterwards in which she demanded an explanation, made clear that she expected those who pulled the statue down to be charged and told him he must uphold the law.
Mark Shelford, the area’s Conservative candidate for police and crime commissioner, tweeted that the lack of intervention was “terrible senior police leadership and local political leadership”.
Marsh, who defended the force’s tactics during the BLM protests and said that trying to arrest the activists would have resulted in a “very violent confrontation”, was later backed in a report by the police watchdog.
Last month more than 40 police officers were injured and two police vehicles were set on fire in clashes with activists who were angry about government plans to place new restrictions on protest. The force has since been criticised for deploying aggressive tactics during the “Kill the Bill” protests.
Marsh received public support from government ministers including Patel after an initially peaceful rally against the plans deteriorated into the worst disorder in Bristol since riots in 2011.
About 500 people marched on Bridewell police station, set fire to police vehicles and attacked the station. Protests on March 23 and 26 also ended with violence. More than 30 people were arrested.
Avon and Somerset called in public order officers from other forces to help quell unrest and clamp down at future protests but these tactics have also drawn criticism for heavy-handedness.
Marsh, who will leave at the beginning of July, described his job as the “honour of a lifetime” and said it would be a “wrench” to leave the force.
In a statement yesterday he said: “To leave a force I first joined in 1987 has been a difficult decision to make, but I feel it is the right time for me to embark on a new challenge and for another person to take the helm and continue on the journey to make Avon and Somerset police the outstanding force it deserves to be.”
Marsh, who has served in the senior leadership of two other police forces and was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2018, paid tribute to his colleagues “and the work they do every day to serve and protect the public”.
He said he was proud to have played a national role in promoting the use of body-worn cameras by police officers and that he took pride in Avon and Somerset’s “trail-blazing advances” in equipping officers and staff with new technology.
The statement did not mention the challenges of policing the protests in Bristol, which will inevitably form a significant part of his legacy.
Sue Mountstevens, the independent police commissioner, is not contesting the election for the role, which includes appointing the next chief, next month. A tight contest is predicted between Labour and the Conservatives. John Smith, the deputy PCC until recently, is running as an independent.
