Police Federation threatens court action if officers get hurt
John Apter, the chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation in the UK recently made a very public declaration that if any harm came to officers in the line of duty while minimum staffing requirements were being ignored that the Federation would sue the Force.
Apter said, “It’s commonplace now for minimum staffing levels to be ignored. Taking such risks with officers’ safety is not acceptable; and we can’t stand by and allow this to happen. Where managers take unnecessary risks with minimum staffing levels and one of our members gets injured, we will take legal action against the force.”
He went on to condemn the view that increasing assaults on police officers are just part of the job. Apter asserts that only should these attacks not be seen as routine, but that the officers involved should get better support from their communities and higher ups.