Oops - wrong man

[WageSlave]

Does Gibraltar ring any bells?

Anyone noticed that Hereford is rather quiet at the moment?

Oh I get it. They're gypos, right? All that sharp-shooting practice at the fun fair target range.

[Not So Wise]

Also was really p1ssed at the beeb on saturday night running a story about the guys family calling the police incompetent and so on. The story served absolutely no useful purpose YET the beeb ran it simply for its ratings it would get form running such a story.

I say good on them for running it.

Lets get this straight, they intensionally shot and killed a innocent unarmed man in cold blood

Hardly a extreamly competent professional and in control police action

If i was them would run more and shame I.Blair into actually properly apologizing to the familiy

[AtW]

But the Police didn't have a marksman or accurate enough firearm. They probably had no choice but to physically pursue.

You can't put snipers all around the unknown route of target that is being discreetly followed by police in plain clothes. Once he reached the tube they had to evaluate chances of him blowing himself up there, perhaps his attitude changes, maybe he felt he was followed by, so as soon as police decided to order him to stop he choosen to leg it thus leaving police no chance but to pursue.

The police had tough but limited choice: risk the guy blowing himself up or shoot him in the most quick-death way possible.

[Mailman]

I say good on them for running it.

Lets get this straight, they intensionally shot and killed a innocent unarmed man in cold blood

Hardly a extreamly competent professional and in control police action

If i was them would run more and shame I.Blair into actually properly apologizing to the familiy

And you would have done what differently Mr know it all?

Perhaps if you had been in their shoes you wouldnt be calling them incompetent. As somone has already said, the police were in a lose/lose situation. They get it wrong and one innocent man dies...they get it wrong and 50 innocent people die.

Mailman

[EC4N]

Latest: According to coroner, Brazilian was shot 7 times to the head and once to the shoulder.

Hmmm...

[Not So Wise]

And you would have done what differently Mr know it all?

If i had information i beleived accurate enough he would not have made it down the street, nor on to the buss, nor into the tube station.

He would have been stopped (with letal force if nessary but as last resort) at any of these earlyer points

If my intel/suspicions were not good enough to stop him at any of these earlyer points, i definatly would not have considered it good enough to shoot him 5 times in the head while he was on the ground with two of my follow officers sitting on top of him

[AtW]

If i had information i beleived accurate enough he would not have made it down the street, nor on to the buss, nor into the tube station.

It was calculated risk in hope he will lead police to the others. If he had racksack on him or just a big bag then I am pretty sure he would have been dealt with there and then (outside house to avoid possible friends seeing capture).

[Not So Wise]

That argument might have some merit IF two attacks had not targeted buses, but they did.
They allowed this guy on the number 2 for a 15 minute journey while doing nothing, do buss travelers rank lower than tube travelers?

This entire episode bears the hallmarks of panicing police (especially if what EC says is true) , now if this was USA were every cop gets a gun after a few weeks of training that panic could be understood and forgiven, but these are meant to be the best of the best over here, their training is meant to be so good that things like this (panic shooting) do not happen.

If their training is not so good then they need to be taken off the streets before they give the terrorists any more "free kills"

[AtW]

That argument might have some merit IF two attacks had not targeted buses, but they did.

Its a good question: the best answer I have is that if the bus was near empty and given that the guy could not have had much explosives on him it was calculated risk.

[DimPrawn]

According to the BBC the bloke was shot seven times in the head.



That should do it.