POLICE HISTORY
LOOKBACK: SAFEGUARDING THE SQUARE MILE
Retired sergeant turned special constable Chris Pearson looks back on his 32 years’ service, including when the Federation stepped in to help during a difficult time when he was ill with leukaemia
Chris Pearson joined the force back in 1981. After leaving the Army, he wanted to do something that made a difference and to help people, so he joined the City of London Police, having been born within the Square Mile at St Bart’s Hospital. Both his father and two uncles worked in the print industry in the Fleet Street area, and he always felt a strong connection with the City of London. He became a sergeant specialising in public order, helping lead his team within its Force Support Group, and experienced a number of historical riots and protests. His early career included being a beat officer and detective constable before promotion to sergeant in 2000. He then spent three years at the British Transport Police before returning to the City in 2003. Public order policing in the Capital across the 80s and the 90s saw some of its most challenging moments in British history, with peaceful demonstrations sometimes culminating in violence. He assisted during the miners’ strike between 1984 and 1985, before providing aid to the Metropolitan Police Service during the poll tax riots on 31 March 1990, in what turned out to be the biggest demonstration to occur in London in the century. Little did he know this wouldn’t turn out
to be the most challenging public order operation in his career.
On 18 June, 1999, the Carnival Against
Capital demonstration took place, an international day of protest against capitalism and globalisation (also known as J18) timed to coincide with the 25th G8 summit in Cologne, Germany. “The west end was destroyed – I had never seen anything like it,” Chris described. “You never know when a protest is going to
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dismantled by the crowd and thrown at us. Thankfully the public order kit provided was very good as was the training.” Like many officers with successful and long policing careers, Chris started his journey in the Army. At the age of 16 he was given the opportunity to be a guardsman in the Grenadier Guards.
He spent a lot of time working at Buckingham Palace, Winsor Castle, and the Tower of London.
go wrong, it can be peaceful at the start but as the day goes on, it can become volatile and then everything happens at once, which can lead to some very challenging situations with the potential for many different outcomes.”
“It’s so easy for an allegation to be made against an officer and it’s good to know you have the same backup and support that regular serving officers have.”
But his hairiest moment was in 2009, just before his retirement. “There was a large protest outside of the Israeli Embassy gates,” he recalled. “We were completely outnumbered, and the barriers were
But just because he is retired, his policing journey does not stop there, as he is now a special constable, regularly deploying in the City of London on Thursdays or Fridays when it’s at its busiest. He rejoined the City after leaving policing in 2013 due to critical illness, but felt that he had something to offer the service as a result of his previous experience, and is still motivated by wanting to make a difference. It took him from 2013 to 2020 to physically and mentally recover fully from leukaemia and feel strong enough to return to the City of London Police, which he has always considered to be his ‘home’ force. “I rejoined in 2020 as a special
constable. Due to recent changes in regulations thanks to PFEW campaigning, I am now eligible to rejoin the Police Federation again,” said Chris. “We are carrying out all the same duties as regulars now, so it makes sense we have the same protection and access to legal advice.
“It’s so easy for an allegation to be made against an officer and it’s good to know you have the same backup and support that regular serving officers have.” Chris said he was “very lucky” during
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