This is the UK, not the USA. Guns are illegal, it was a specific operation from a specific task force who had specific intelligence that a gun was involved. Else they wouldn't have been there.
It remains to be seen what the full facts are, but if he had a gun, and so far everything points to it, then he gave up his right to be treated as a normal citizen the minute he got one, and he opened himself up to a world in which he can get shot. A police officers duty should always be to protect himself and the general public, not to wait for the guy with the gun to do something.
To bring this into perspective, just over 6000 police officers in the UK are licenced to carry guns. This is in 2007-8, the last year i can get figures for. Operations with guns were authorised just over 21,000 times, that's right they need to be signe doff and authorised. In 2007-8, of those 21,000 operations, a conventional firearm was discharged, how many times?...7...just 7. How many people died?...0...none.
In the last 13 years, only 4 people have been shot dead by the police that I know of, and this is the first in 4 years. So anyone out there who is trying to portray the police as murderers, or think they fired lightly or anything else. Really, this is the UK, we take this shit seriously, we investigate it seriously, and we learn from EVERY death.
It remains to be seen what the full facts are, but if he had a gun, and so far everything points to it, then he gave up his right to be treated as a normal citizen the minute he got one, and he opened himself up to a world in which he can get shot. A police officers duty should always be to protect himself and the general public, not to wait for the guy with the gun to do something.
To bring this into perspective, just over 6000 police officers in the UK are licenced to carry guns. This is in 2007-8, the last year i can get figures for. Operations with guns were authorised just over 21,000 times, that's right they need to be signe doff and authorised. In 2007-8, of those 21,000 operations, a conventional firearm was discharged, how many times?...7...just 7. How many people died?...0...none.
In the last 13 years, only 4 people have been shot dead by the police that I know of, and this is the first in 4 years. So anyone out there who is trying to portray the police as murderers, or think they fired lightly or anything else. Really, this is the UK, we take this shit seriously, we investigate it seriously, and we learn from EVERY death.
London
08/08/2011 12:08:35 PM
- 1828 Views
It's pretty scary.
08/08/2011 02:19:51 PM
- 932 Views
I found it somewhat last night, having a sister who lives in Brixton
08/08/2011 02:50:57 PM
- 952 Views
Continue to use live ammunition until no one is protesting. *NM*
08/08/2011 03:53:50 PM
- 502 Views
Sounds good to me *NM*
08/08/2011 04:06:04 PM
- 484 Views
Okay, bored of these riots now, time for the police to follow 10CCs example...
08/08/2011 09:28:36 PM
- 984 Views
Given what has been reported
08/08/2011 04:07:13 PM
- 1014 Views
So, did the original suspect have a gun/fire bullets?
09/08/2011 04:19:16 PM
- 991 Views
Had a gun, didn't fire
09/08/2011 06:51:54 PM
- 919 Views
Not actually true
09/08/2011 07:01:33 PM
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Seems it isn't exactly but I'm not sure your reply is 100% true either
09/08/2011 07:27:00 PM
- 993 Views
There's no evidence he didn't fire? Imagine that.
09/08/2011 11:22:05 PM
- 905 Views
He's saying the evidence available is inconclusive either way.
09/08/2011 11:37:06 PM
- 976 Views
Fair enough.
09/08/2011 11:56:16 PM
- 1018 Views
There are various proofs
10/08/2011 12:06:41 AM
- 911 Views
True, but if tests are inconclusive rather than merely incomplete those proofs may not be available.
10/08/2011 12:47:34 AM
- 942 Views
Bullshit
10/08/2011 01:12:46 AM
- 844 Views
I do see why it matters if he fired or not
10/08/2011 12:46:12 AM
- 859 Views
Again, I don't know the British standard, so I can only guess how it works.
10/08/2011 12:54:20 AM
- 961 Views
Though if he had a gun, in a sock, not drawn...
10/08/2011 01:50:05 AM
- 922 Views
sadly the rioters didn't wait for facts
10/08/2011 02:56:46 AM
- 1045 Views
...said Gaddafi. *NM*
10/08/2011 12:11:31 AM
- 479 Views
And?... *NM*
10/08/2011 12:17:51 AM
- 459 Views
And we just went to war with him because he was shooting people in the street.
10/08/2011 09:56:07 AM
- 929 Views
Last time I checked, you guys have a vote. First past the post, sure, but it's still a vote.
10/08/2011 04:33:07 AM
- 889 Views
Is there any other country that has a death penalty for children caught stealing? *NM*
10/08/2011 10:02:56 AM
- 511 Views
Maybe not, but we can hope there is... *NM*
10/08/2011 02:04:38 PM
- 444 Views
You can hope there is.
10/08/2011 02:21:17 PM
- 903 Views
...you guys need a poster named Tam, and a sitcom, stat. *NM*
10/08/2011 05:11:57 PM
- 496 Views
Wibble is called Tam (Scots) or Tom (English), and used to go by dragon_tam.
10/08/2011 05:27:16 PM
- 1012 Views
If you want to talk statistics...
13/08/2011 08:26:39 PM
- 854 Views
So the death penalty is a deterrent for the crimes it doesn't apply to, but not for those it does?
14/08/2011 10:58:14 AM
- 1039 Views
They think they have a good reason for what they're doing
10/08/2011 11:48:52 AM
- 859 Views
If they react even more indignantly to a harsh crackdown, maybe they do.
10/08/2011 02:06:04 PM
- 783 Views
This is the first I've heard of it; here's hoping and praying the damage is restricted to property
08/08/2011 06:59:06 PM
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I am sure
09/08/2011 06:34:40 PM
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I don't recall mentioning any of those groups in connection with this.
09/08/2011 07:29:01 PM
- 862 Views
You will. *NM*
10/08/2011 12:14:22 AM
- 475 Views
I've had plenty of opportunites and still didn't, even when rt practically teed one up for me.
10/08/2011 12:25:09 AM
- 895 Views
This is utterly awful.
08/08/2011 09:41:46 PM
- 1039 Views
Yeah - it has massively spread today. Just saw footage of youths looting a Sainburys in Birmingham
08/08/2011 09:52:32 PM
- 955 Views
And if they had got the army out
08/08/2011 09:57:40 PM
- 928 Views
They call it "martial law" for a reason.
09/08/2011 02:30:40 AM
- 903 Views
Might work in the US
09/08/2011 02:13:50 PM
- 953 Views
When most of the looters are kids I can see how that would be problematic.
09/08/2011 05:18:09 PM
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Joel I don't believe any looters were shot in the Rodney King riots
09/08/2011 05:41:44 PM
- 897 Views
Police were, from what I understand, hard to find during those riots.
09/08/2011 05:51:11 PM
- 899 Views
I am just questioning the logic of the debate taking place here
09/08/2011 06:33:11 PM
- 847 Views
Your notoriously faulty memory is by far the lesser problem here.
09/08/2011 07:14:07 PM
- 1159 Views
OK I blame the site for this random double post. I hit submit once.
09/08/2011 08:55:17 PM
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I can't really argue with anything you've said here, so I won't try.
09/08/2011 11:11:17 PM
- 1004 Views
so now you are comparing the rioters to the Tea Party? I guess dartboard was almost right
10/08/2011 12:51:46 AM
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I'm comparing alienation to alienation and noting that it's pervasive.
10/08/2011 01:19:49 AM
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Seriously, is it mostly kids?
08/08/2011 10:08:00 PM
- 844 Views
A hell of a lot seem to be
08/08/2011 10:12:21 PM
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I know that if I had ever participated in anything like that, my mother would have kicked my ass.
09/08/2011 08:48:09 PM
- 1026 Views
Tumblr blog where ppl are submitting pictures of the looters
09/08/2011 12:49:39 PM
- 866 Views
Before and after pictures of buildings/businesses from BBC
09/08/2011 02:12:24 PM
- 1046 Views
Never figured the Iranian government for having much of a sense of hunour,
09/08/2011 02:26:01 PM
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The hypocricy there is mind-boggling. *NM*
09/08/2011 05:03:28 PM
- 431 Views
I imagine that's the point.
09/08/2011 05:33:09 PM
- 1052 Views
To be fair
09/08/2011 06:24:58 PM
- 1166 Views
i can see the smoke from the sony factory fire out of my bedroom window
09/08/2011 07:21:08 PM
- 947 Views
This is all quite... surreal. It's hard to believe.
09/08/2011 08:54:57 PM
- 866 Views
The surreal thing is London is still full of tourists who seem to not have a care in the world
09/08/2011 09:03:11 PM
- 869 Views
She has a grandson to meet for the first time, then she's off traveling with a friend.
10/08/2011 03:27:37 AM
- 936 Views
Well to clarify, it isn't that I think it is very unsafe just not a good time to go somewhere
10/08/2011 10:19:03 AM
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I have been keeping an eye on it; we have friends in Highbury
10/08/2011 05:07:16 AM
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Re: I have been keeping an eye on it; we have friends in Highbury
10/08/2011 10:47:46 AM
- 1007 Views