Wow.
- they pushed him to the floor, bundled on top of him and unloaded five shots into him.
Looks like somebody didn’t want somebody else to talk.
Bit worrying. I’m sincerely hoping that that eyewitness report isn’t all there is to it… as an ex copper I prefer to think that maybe the guy was wearing a semtex vest and had to be stopped from detonating it in a crowded public place.
Hardly proper arrest procedure. They probably didn’t want to take any chances - and I don’t doubt they knew who he was.
The UK police don’t usually carry guns, so they must have been acting on information.
Mukade
More detailed eyewitness report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4706913.stm
The cordon around the area would seem to support the suspicion of explosives but of course that’s not yet been confirmed.
I was wondering about this… how common are armed police in the UK?
Are they only called out for special cases, or do they patrol?
Is it something that a policeman works up to, being on an “armed squad”?
Firearms aren’t on ‘general issue’ to officers over here. But each force has a “tactical firearms unit” (TFU) which comprises a mix of uniformed and plain-clothes officers.
When I was in the force (15 years ago now) every force had “rapid response cars” crewed by firearms-trained officers, with weapons in the boot (trunk). Usually one per county.
Training for entry into the TFU was incredibly rigorous, and there was a high “deferred success” rate. There were some who held the opinion that volunteering for the TFU was a ‘deferred success’ in and of itself.
Some specialist ‘squads’ exist (Royal and Diplomatic Protection unit, for example) where firearms are routinely carried, and of course they’re visible at the major airports in London.
Perhaps more alarming these days is proliferation of flak jackets (or bullet-proof vests) issued to bobbies on the beat. In my day, wearing a ‘second chance’ undervest for protection against knives was considered ‘eccentric’.
In short, the very public shooting of a suspect by armed police in such a fashion as the incident at Stockwell today is a ‘big thing’ on this side of the pond.
How kind of you.
Is this because being on the TFU would stall one’s career, or because of a feeling that
TFUs are unecessary/uncivilized/unBritish, so being on the TFU makes one a “failed” officer?
(I’m just speculating, mind you)
No… I meant that some forces were of the opinion that an officer who volunteered to join the TFU was psychologically suspect to begin with. Joining the TFU means the very high likelihood that you might one day have to shoot and kill someone… who would volunteer for that?
Not all forces expressed that policy publicly though. But rest assured, much of the rigorous training involved psychological assessment. And a huge amount of physical fitness training.
There was a commotion within the Met. some years ago when it was felt some TFU officers had been ‘hung out to dry’ by their superiors after a shooting; a number of firearms-qualified officers handed in their “tickets” (firearms authorisation warrants) and quit the TFU. They felt that their colleagues had been unfairly treated after what was seen as a legitimate shooting. It’s a tough job, and the “internal affairs” procedures a TFU officer faces after a shooting incident are intense.
A sizeable number of firearms-qualified officers are on regular duties, and only draw firearms when a major incident kicks off. Then they have to leg it back to their home stations as fast as possible to draw their equipment/get briefed and deployed.
It must have been a TFU guy who watched us walk down the street. He had an assault rifle. Martin told me he’d shoot me if I littered.
BTW Gary, when are you going to tell us some of your copper stories. Something humerous.
One evening we were cruising around Portsmouth City centre when we spotted a youth we ‘knew’ (a known car-thief, in his teens). He was on a curfew order, had to be in his home by 9pm or find himself immediately arrested for contempt of court and violating his curfew order. He was black.
It was gone 10pm. So we pulled up, got out, arrested him, and put him in the back of the van. On the way back to the station, this sullen youth suddenly shouted through the grille:
“You’re all racists you lot. You’re only arresting me 'cos I’m a criminal!”
You may imagine our reaction, and the reaction of the Court when my colleague (the arresting officer in the case) was asked
“Did the defendant say anything in the matter of his arrest?”
“Yes, your Worships, the defendant said…”
I would love to read some of your copper stories Gary.
By the way, what is the process for becoming a copper over there?
It can be pretty intense here, depending on the area yo live in.
To become a copper over here is actually quite a simple process. If you’re aged between 18 and , of good character (ie no criminal record) and of temperate habits (not a drug addict or an alcoholic), plus physically fit (reasonably fit, that is) you simply apply for an application form from your Force HQ.
I should perhaps explain that each county has its own Police Authority (police force). London also has the Metropolitan Police, and the City of London Police. Plus there’s MoDPlod (MoD Police) and British Transport Police.
You fill in the application form and send it off. They do brief security checks, check to see if your immediate family are known criminals or have undesirable political affiliations etc. Then you’re invited to attend one of the bigger stations to do some rather uninspiring ‘academic’ tests. Basic maths, basic English skills, and one I found rather astonishing: a huge list of postal codes and mixed letters/numbers, and you had to scan them to tick off matching pairs ‘against the clock’. What the point of that one was I will never know. The tests aren’t academically arduous (I scored “one of the highest marks they’d recorded” and I’m no brain of Britain I do assure you!).
Having passed the tests, you’re then invited to an interview with senior officers. The interview doesn’t take long (maybe 30 minutes). After which you may or may not be told whether you’re successful. The intake I was with was told ‘on the day’.
Next, you all appear at HQ to be sworn in as Constables before a Magistrate. Then shipped off to Stores to be given your uniform and equipment etc.
After that, it’s off to the force training centre for a couple of weeks “induction”, issue of warrant cards, admin, etc. Then it’s off to one of the National Police Training Colleges.
In my day, the initial training was 14 weeks full time. Jeeze it was intense. I lost about 2 stone in those 14 weeks and my uniform didn’t fit at the end of it. Another 2 weeks back at the Force training centre, then it’s off to your station and out on the beat.
These days I think they split the 14 weeks into two, with a 4-week duty period in between the two 7-week sessions. But a lot has changed since I came out.
Thanks Gary.
I ask because my wife and I are thinking of moving to either Canada or the UK, and since my background and education is in Law Enforcement (and since, statistically, it’s a much safer field than in the US) That would be one field that I would consider.
Does this mean you have a Criminal Justice degree, or some other training?
I just don’t know what goes into a Law Enforcement education…
P.S., that does go a ways toward explaining your Holmesian avatar…
There are myriad branches of Law Enforcement Ed. Mine is Criminal Justice/Investigations…
sorry for not clarifying earlyer. 
I got the degree and did a stint in prison Admin and currently, aside from my photography career, do Admin/Investigation work for a security company.
The police had been watching this guy’s flat, they followed him to the tube station and challenged him to stop. UK armed response units have recieved instructions on how do deal with suspected suicide bombers based on experience gained by Israeli security forces. This is the first example of these “techniques” being applied here.
Makes interrogation a bit sticky, no?
gary, correct me if i’m wrong, but in situations where there is a suspected suicide bomb and there is the possibility of many deaths and or injuries, isn’t the procedure to “shoot first, ask questions later”?
my dad (retired colonel, usarmy) tells me this is so in the us. just wondered if it was the same in the uk.