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| "Go ahead punk, place your bet" |
Interesting juxtaposition when the BBC reporter outside the shop said, "Of course there was no way the customers could have known the `gun` was just a replica". Yes mate, thats correct, and neither could the police, even firearms specialists, if they'd perceived their lives were at risk and chose to shoot him. I suppose the unarmed punters hadn't that option and bravely rushed him (pending confirmation).
The other debate that will be glossed over is the one where if the ARV wasn't the first on scene and it was a normal police patrol, they would not have access to lethal force, in which case they would be in the same boat as the customers, i.e. lucky he hadn't acquired a real one. And even with plucky folks ready to lend a hand, you don't know if they will and they often stand back once the police arrive.
Moral? Never come between an Englishman (or several of them) and their £20 each way bet on the 2.30 at Kempton Park.
PS: and note the headline from the above hyperlink, "Gunman" dies, not "unarmed man`. One headline for the public and one for the police? QED?
18 comments:
As we might say over here: "Don't bring a toy to a gun fight."
CI-RD: Yup. I can imagine him facing several legally held weapons from members of the public. But its early days yet. I gather, as more news is being released, that he was found to be suffering some sort of asphyxiation once the police took over the scene. They may yet be blamed.
One headline for the public and one for the police? QED?
Sadly, I think so.
Perhaps this incident will give pause to the legions of 'Guardian' readers who all flock to stories of people dying in custody after being restrained to criticise the police and tell them how it should be handled?
*has second thoughts*
No. Probably not, eh?
"I gather, as more news is being released, that he was found to be suffering some sort of asphyxiation once the police took over the scene."
The gas mask he was wearing probably didn't help. What happened to the classic 'pair of tights over the face', eh?
*tuts* Standards are slipping all over...
He was both a gunman and unarmed. No contradiction!
So the customers killed an unarmed man? I'm guessing they will be getting charged?
Another diamond geezer who would have given you his last penny,was good to old his mum,trying to get away from crime,loveable rogue etc etc.
Also he was on early release from his last armed robbery.How did that work out for you then?
Jaded
Levers was jailed for four years in 2010 after pointing an imitation handgun at a woman's head in a £600 robbery. The ineffective punishment provided no measure of public protection.
I reserve contempt for those responsible for ridiculous sentencing and a premature, unreformed release which significantly contributed to the robber's own demise.
We can only hope he hasn't bred. A Darwin would be well deserved.
Years ago at the computer technical school I attended, there was (so the story goes) a disgruntled former student, unhappy that he could not find a job in the same city. So he decided to take the school's disk drives (don't remember whether they were the primary or backup) and ransom them back to the school.
On the day of the agreed meeting place - a park, he is there with the police.
He waved a gun , was told to drop it, did not, with the predictable consequence.
It was a toy pistol.
Bill. That could well have happened in my country, with way fewer guns in the hands of the public. However we would hsve been expected to attempt a negotiated end and even considered using sub lethal munitions first ie a baton round. Note I said "considered".
Hogs, you never know he might have waved a white stick and have been tasered instead...
Of course, for the uninformed, a TASER requires the officer to come within about 4 meters of the subject (I would have called `target`) to have a good chance of a hit - reiterate, `good chance` - its your life, you decide if your chances are `good` at the time, the press and armchair experts decide later, if it all went horribly wrong.
MTG: True. Rehabilitation or just incarceration? Bad investment.
Blue: Like it! Headlines now read "Police Electrocute Unarmed Blind Cripple". Sun headline reads "Ggggg go ahead ppppppunk, wwwwhhho ddddddid tthhhaaaat?"".
This reminds me a bit of a Darwin Award. An armed robber decides to hold up a night club, he enters brandishing a gun and robs the club. Some of the punters escape and call the police. The robber exits the premises and is confronted by Madrid's finest. He tries to engage them in a gunfight and loses. He was carrying a blank firing pistol. Apart from several rounds of 9mm what was going through his mind?
Retired
Retired, you have just reminded me of an episode of Law & Order where a cop commits suicide by holding up a bar, taking hostages, then letting them go, then walking out of the front door with his gun. Horrible.
Retired/Blue: I just met a potential whilst walking our dog. The road by the river is flooded. There is a sign in the road that says, "FLOOD". A driver came along and stopped. The lady who lives in the mill house and who put the sign out told him it was at least 4 feet deep, probably more. He moved the sign, got into his car and drove into the flood - and is probably still there. I left him wading around, water up to his thighs, trying to phone someone on his mobile (amazed he knew how to use one). He was having no joy. I told him there's no signal for 200 metres in either direction, then went home.
Betting shops seem to be pretty dangerous places inside AND outside...
JuliaM: What are the odds of that happening?
It's asking a lot to be sent a sign to give up a gambling addiction.
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