LONDON: Scotland Yard said on Thursday that a police officer who was filmed intimidating an Al Jazeera news crew covering a suspected antisemitic hate crime in north London has been referred to the force’s professional standards team for assessment.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the man in the footage was David Soffer, 34, a special constable who was off duty at the time of the incident.
He was identified by the investigative journalism organization Declassified UK on Thursday.
The Al Jazeera crew had been covering an arson attack on four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community-run volunteer service, in the Golders Green neighborhood on Monday.
When they arrived, they were surrounded by a crowd who accused them of making terrorist propaganda and told them to go home.
Footage circulating online showed one man directing racial slurs in Arabic and Hebrew at the journalists. “You donkey, you dog,” he said.
“No one needs Al Jazeera here,” said another.
A spokesperson for the force said: “We are aware that an off-duty serving Met special constable was involved in the altercation. The matter has been referred to the Directorate of Professional Standards for assessment.”
The Met also acknowledged failings in how officers handled the scene at the time.
“Officers did intervene, but we recognize that there was an extended period where the journalists were put in a difficult situation, which led them to leave the area,” it said.
“Freedom of the press is important and journalists must be able to do their job without being subject to intimidation or harassment.”
The Met confirmed it would be reviewing footage to determine whether any criminal offenses were committed.
In a separate development, two British men arrested on Wednesday in connection with the ambulance arson attack were released on bail on Thursday pending further investigation.
