BLACK HISTORY MONTH


‘YOU CAN BE WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE’


PC Richard Gayle joined the Metropolitan Police in October 2014, something he had envisioned for his future from when he was a child.


“I had always had a keen interest in policing from a young age. My dad joined the Met in 1996 and I remember going to his passing out parade at Hendon. I decided from that day that I wanted to be a PC,” he said. From starting as a volunteer police


cadet at the age of 13, to working in a wide range of roles from frontline policing to digital media investigator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Richard has truly explored the breadth of roles on offer to police officers. He was even recently handpicked to be part of a large-scale recruitment drive, helping to encourage people from minority groups to join the police service. Richard says: “I believe that you can’t


be what you can’t see. Being a Black, gay police officer hasn’t always been easy but I am proud to be me. Being here means I can be a part of the right conversations being had by the right people. I can help to ensure that equality is getting the attention that it deserves, all while doing a job that I love.” As we celebrate Black History Month


throughout October, Richard says: ‘To me, Black History Month means celebrating living in a world where I can be my authentic self, whilst recognising we still have some way to go before we reach true equality. It is important to acknowledge the amazing achievements of black people throughout history such as Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks who made it


JOHN KENT: BRITAIN’S FIRST BLACK POLICE OFFICER


Thanks to extensive research by dedicated retired Cumbria ofcers Raymond Greenhow and Bob Lowther, we can share details of the fascinating career of


Britain’s first black police ofcer. John Kent was born in 1805 in Carlisle.


His father, Thomas Kent was a former slave of the Senhouse family at Calder Abbey, West Cumberland. John began his policing career in 1835


where he was a constable at Maryport before the establishment of Cumberland and Westmorland Constabulary in 1856. Drawn to the buzz of the city, he


decided to transfer to Carlisle City Police as a “supernumerary constable” – or probationer - on 17 August 1837, before being made permanent on 26 October 1837 with the most eventful period of his career looming. In Victorian Britain, the general


elections were met with rioting due to the electors’ disapproval of the candidates. Many just seized the opportunity to cause damage. There were serious election riots in Carlisle in 1869, when John Kent and


others were stoned with one officer sadly losing their life after being struck on the head.


John’s other brave acts in the line


of duty included the moment where he was threatened by a man with a knife. He single-handedly disarmed the man and made an arrest. Two others accompanying the man did not get away with it though and were arrested later that evening. He also saved a 17-year-old from


drowning, although they tragically died six hours later. On 6 December 1844, John arrived for


duty while intoxicated which was common in forces in the 19th century as people found drinking ale safer than drinking the water which could be contaminated with typhoid and cholera. Owing to a policy introduced by a new Chief Constable to sanction officers drunk on duty, John was pulled in front of a watch committee made up of elected councillors with the power to hire and fire members of their forces. He was dismissed from the service on 12 December 1844.


He then became a parish constable at


Longtown where he continued to protect the public in the face of danger. He responded to an assault where a three- pronged fork was driven into a man’s chest, close to his heart. John died on 20 July 1886 at the age


of 81 at his home in Henry Street, Carlisle, and was buried in Carlisle Cemetery. A plaque was unveiled during


Black History Month 2019 by the National Black Police Association to commemorate his life. It was nearly 130 years after John first joined the police that Astley Lloyd Blair joined Gloucestershire Constabulary in 1964, making him Britain’s second black police officer. Two years later, Norwell Roberts became the first black police officer in the Metropolitan Police followed by Sislin Fay Allen, the first black female officer in 1968.


25 I POLICE I OCTOBER 2021 Richard Gayle outside No10 Downing Street


possible for me to live the life I do today. “It is important for police forces to


celebrate Black History Month because throughout history we haven’t always got it right, but by gaining a better understanding of the past, cultural sensitivities and differences, we can ensure the same mistakes never happen again. “I have had a varied and exciting career,


doing everything I have wanted since I was a child and I am so proud of it all. I hope that I can continue doing my best to inspire young black people to join the police.”


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