Shoot to Kill policy

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Claudia

In the paper this morning the police are asking for help to catch someone.

I don't think I want to help them do anything anymore. Last week some poor old dotty pensioner was shot dead by the police. He joins a growing list of incidents where police were not under fire but have shot down people who were really no threat to themselves or others.

In this case a 'hostage situation' was declared with a man refusing to let his wife be taken into care. He had a gun. He also had a gun license. However his wife was in hospital at the time with an infection. But Britain's finest still thought it was best to shoot him dead in case it became dangerous.

Dangerous to who?

Them? Well they could have just stayed out of the way till he fell asleep or lost interest in ranting.

The public? No chance - the place was evacuated and cordoned off.

The old boy? It couldn't have been much more dangerous for him than being shot dead could it?

It seems to me that the people given the guns and those deciding who lives and dies are clowns.

It is about time we were allowed to carry guns to protect ourselves from the police if we happen to be carrying a chair leg or catching a train. We would also be able to protect ourselves from criminals who the police are far too busy shooting OAPs to catch.

Replies sorted oldest to newest

CroctacusMember

I read the old boy was depressed and distressed...after a three hour negotiation put a gun into the equation and I think the police porbably had no choice.

I think its referred to as suicide by police or somehting isn't it?

5/10/091:34 AM

ClaudiaMember

quote:
depressed and distressed

I will agree that it is growing increasingly likely that looking at the police the wrong way is likely to be suicide, or even wandering past them with your hands in your pockets trying to get back to your hostel seems fairly fatal as we saw at the G20 shambles.

But since when has being "depressed and distressed" been a reasonable excuse to kill someone? You cannot be executed through due process of law in this country for the most awful and disgusting of crimes against men, women or even children and yet all you have to be doing is to convince your freindly local police assassination team that you are "depressed and distressed" and they can shoot you down.

There was plenty they could do but as ever they shoot first and cover up afterwards.

5/10/092:03 AM

CroctacusMember

I did say put a gun into the equation...

I don't know if he was waving it about but if he was then they really had no choice!

5/10/092:12 AM

SarumMember

quote:
Originally posted by Claudia:

It is about time we were allowed to carry guns to protect ourselves from the police if we happen to be carrying a chair leg or catching a train. We would also be able to protect ourselves from criminals who the police are far too busy shooting OAPs to catch.

You don't see the contradiction in suggesting that "we should be allowed to carry guns" because an OAP was shot for carrying a gun?

5/10/095:14 AM

The Singing Ringing TreeMember

Dear lord arming the general public is an appaling idea. I would leave this country if any feck witt was aloud to carry a gun ... knife crime would turn to gun crime.

I dont like the police having guns but sometimes they have to and an old man waving a gun about is just as dangerous as a 15 year old boy.

5/10/095:33 AM

ClaudiaMember

quote:
Originally posted by Sarum:
quote:
Originally posted by Claudia:

It is about time we were allowed to carry guns to protect ourselves from the police if we happen to be carrying a chair leg or catching a train. We would also be able to protect ourselves from criminals who the police are far too busy shooting OAPs to catch.

You don't see the contradiction in suggesting that "we should be allowed to carry guns" because an OAP was shot for carrying a gun?

Can you see the contradiction in saying the police should be allowed to shoot people for boarding a train or carrying a table leg for repair while we should not be allowed to defend ourselves from trigger happy policemen?

5/10/095:33 AM

CroctacusMember

I take it then that if and when you become a victim of crime you will not be calling the police?

5/10/095:41 AM

jessejayMember

quote:
Originally posted by The Singing Ringing Tree:
Dear lord arming the general public is an appaling idea. I would leave this country if any feck witt was aloud to carry a gun ... knife crime would turn to gun crime.

I dont like the police having guns but sometimes they have to and an old man waving a gun about is just as dangerous as a 15 year old boy.

I do wonder why they couldn't have just wounded him to render him non dangerous

5/10/096:07 AM

The Singing Ringing TreeMember

quote:
Originally posted by jessejay:
quote:
Originally posted by The Singing Ringing Tree:
Dear lord arming the general public is an appaling idea. I would leave this country if any feck witt was aloud to carry a gun ... knife crime would turn to gun crime.

I dont like the police having guns but sometimes they have to and an old man waving a gun about is just as dangerous as a 15 year old boy.

I do wonder why they couldn't have just wounded him to render him non dangerous

I think that perhaps it is easier said than done, and a injured person with a gun is more dangerous I guess. I too often wonered that but I think aming a gun is harder than it is in a movie where they would have just shot the gun out of his hand.

5/10/096:13 AM

SarumMember

quote:
Originally posted by Claudia:

Can you see the contradiction in saying the police should be allowed to shoot people for boarding a train or carrying a table leg for repair while we should not be allowed to defend ourselves from trigger happy policemen?

Actually, I don't see that as a contradiction.
The Police are charged with a duty to defend the public; if someone is perceived as a threat to the public, it is their job to neutralise that threat. Sometimes that requires them to shoot people who are perceived as a threat.

Yes, sometimes they make mistakes; they're only human. But those mistakes are rare (which is why they are newsworthy); I don't think it's fair to paint them as 'trigger-happy' and I don't think it's a good idea to let just anyone cary a gun and start blasting away anytime they feel the need.
A gun is an offensive weapon; you can't defend yourself with it, you can only attack with it.

5/10/097:13 AM

SarumMember

quote:
Originally posted by jessejay:

I do wonder why they couldn't have just wounded him to render him non dangerous

Because that's much more difficult. As long as an armed man is conscious, and has the use of one hand, he's still a serious threat.

5/10/097:15 AM

ClaudiaMember

quote:
Originally posted by Sarum:
quote:
Originally posted by Claudia:

Can you see the contradiction in saying the police should be allowed to shoot people for boarding a train or carrying a table leg for repair while we should not be allowed to defend ourselves from trigger happy policemen?

Actually, I don't see that as a contradiction.
The Police are charged with a duty to defend the public; if someone is perceived as a threat to the public, it is their job to neutralise that threat. Sometimes that requires them to shoot people who are perceived as a threat.

Yes, sometimes they make mistakes; they're only human. But those mistakes are rare (which is why they are newsworthy); I don't think it's fair to paint them as 'trigger-happy' and I don't think it's a good idea to let just anyone cary a gun and start blasting away anytime they feel the need.
A gun is an offensive weapon; you can't defend yourself with it, you can only attack with it.

And I would like the chance of attacking them if they decided to attack me.

As far as I can see he never fired a shot - why didn't they just sit and wait. He would have lost interest a long time before they did. It seems all too easy to shoot someone as a solution to a problem that was manageable without the use of fatal force. They don't seem to be too concerned that they are going to be successfully prosecuted because history proves they won't be.

5/10/092:45 PM

LuxorMember

quote:
Originally posted by jessejay:
quote:
Originally posted by The Singing Ringing Tree:
Dear lord arming the general public is an appaling idea. I would leave this country if any feck witt was aloud to carry a gun ... knife crime would turn to gun crime.

I dont like the police having guns but sometimes they have to and an old man waving a gun about is just as dangerous as a 15 year old boy.

I do wonder why they couldn't have just wounded him to render him non dangerous

I think you may have been watching to much television.
If you are going to shoot somebody from further than 3 feet you have to aim at the largest part of the body.
Guns are not that acurate and except for a very few highly trained people with special rifles the chance of deliberatley wounding someone on purpose is extremely small.

5/12/097:37 AM

neil3842Member

quote:
Originally posted by luxor:
quote:
Originally posted by jessejay:
quote:
Originally posted by The Singing Ringing Tree:
Dear lord arming the general public is an appaling idea. I would leave this country if any feck witt was aloud to carry a gun ... knife crime would turn to gun crime.

I dont like the police having guns but sometimes they have to and an old man waving a gun about is just as dangerous as a 15 year old boy.

I do wonder why they couldn't have just wounded him to render him non dangerous

I think you may have been watching to much television.
If you are going to shoot somebody from further than 3 feet you have to aim at the largest part of the body.
Guns are not that acurate and except for a very few highly trained people with special rifles the chance of deliberatley wounding someone on purpose is extremely small.

really so the police are incapable of hitting a bull on the target range then do we really want such poorly trained killers (sorry police marksman) running round willy nilly.

5/13/0910:11 AM

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