I don't like the thought of living in a country where police are walking around with guns, I didn't grow up in one. Hopefully it won't happen but I won't hold my breath on that.
I've had my say here.
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21-09-12, 05:35 PM
I don't like the thought of living in a country where police are walking around with guns, I didn't grow up in one. Hopefully it won't happen but I won't hold my breath on that.
I've had my say here.
21-09-12, 06:07 PM
C'mon, it's biased rubbish. The Grauniad writes the most sanctimonious left-wing drivel going. It's no different to the Sun, putting into print what the target reader wants to see.Originally Posted by Swanny
Actually I retract the drivel bit, there was a decent article in the Guardian Weekly, a month or two ago recommending longer sentences for certain crimes (proving not all liberal-media apologists have their heads up their arseholes).
22-09-12, 12:25 AM
I have read these posts and just wanted to say a few words. The title for this thread is' tragic deaths', as far as I'm concerned...that says it all. I don't know if Bobbies should be armed or not, those who know better than me will decide. All I know is that we all have the 'dept of death' to pay one day. However, for many of us it will be with our loved ones close by. For me, I know that to have those you love taken from you in a violent and sudden way leaves those behind floundering. I don't care what happens to those that did this,I only care that those left behind know that we care. Everyone should be effected by this, it makes no difference where you geographically live, its not about where it happened, its the fact it did happen.
22-09-12, 08:14 AM
I would like to repeat the Blog Daytonadog posted, a brilliant and enthralling read, well written. We really need more bloggers like Gadget, as this is the view from the front line troops. What you get in the media is the view of the front line troops AFTER it has been filtered and edited as it goes higher up the ladder before being released. I know from personal experience that when you chat to an officer 'off the record' you often get a different story and viewpoint than when you put a microphone in front of them and ask if you can quote.
http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/
Firstly I don't think that image of a police officer can't be taken to show if they are fit to carry a side arm one way or the other, a single still shot doesn't show you what was going on in any great detail. You don't know if the person he is shouting at is armed or not, the camera doesn't show it. Maybe he is telling people to get down as he thinks he has seen someone who is armed waving their weapon around, maybe the officer behind him caught him in the plums when he raised his own baton? The fact is, with media images like this the only thing you can guarantee they have been chosen for is sensationalism, as that's what sells. The caption for that image could be 'Frenzied officer loses plot, pulls his baton and charges a group of young mothers with children' when in actual fact the real caption for that specific time and incident may well have been 'Faced with a potentially hostile situation, officers raise batons and yell at the crowd to get back'. It maybe true that photo's can't lie, but that doesn't mean they always tell the truth.
People always seem to use the USA as an example of what will happen if we arm the police, for the same reason. Take the worst case scenario and sensationalise it. The German police also carry guns, yet they only fired 85 bullets in the whole of 2011, and most of those where just warning shots. Compare that to American police who fired 90 shots at an single unarmed man running away. A stark contrast I think you will agree. The difference is that the USA has a 'everyone should own one' gun culture that doesn't exist here or in Germany.
Personaly I wouldn't like to see every police officer walking the street with a side arm, however I don't have to go into situations that we ask and expect these people to go into on our behalf on a daily basis. I'm sure DaytonaDog can give you many examples of situations he's been in, looked at the equipment he's issued with and the problem in front of him, how far away backup is (due to not enough officers and those that are available are either filling in the hours and hours of paperwork involved with going to tell 'Darren' that he can't send nasty text messages to 'Tracy' even though 'the slag threatened to key my Evo', or dealing with a '2 can van damme' who's had a half pint of shandy more than they should and is smashing up parking meters because they got a ticket for being 10 mins late back to their vehicle), and thought '****, there is a good chance I'm goign to get cheesed here (like creamed but it goes on for longer).
The tragic loss of two officers should affect each and every one of us. We lost two great officers who do a tough job in a tough area, we should be listening to these people, not the MP's and not ACPO.
17-10-12, 06:49 PM
A "terrified" blind man was hit with a 50,000 volt taser gun after police mistook his white stick for a Samurai sword.
Stroke victim Colin Farmer, 61, collapsed to the ground in shock after he was hit in the back with the gun while walking down the street in Chorley, Lancs.
If all our police officers were routinely armed, this unfortunate old chap may well not have survived to tell the tale. He certainly got a big shock in both senses of the word.
17-10-12, 11:59 PM
I heard this on the radio today. Makes you wonder who was really blind
18-10-12, 12:19 AM
If someone made a massive really bad mistake at work in any other job they would be sacked, I bet these people aren't :-/
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