Posted on 11/09/2004 11:04:13 AM PST by neverdem
More than 120 firearms officers in London are refusing to carry guns after two colleagues were suspended over a shooting, police representatives claim.
Harry Stanley, 46, was shot dead in 1999 after police mistook a table leg he was carrying for a shotgun.
An inquest on Friday returned a verdict of unlawful killing and Pc Kevin Fagan and Insp Neil Sharman were suspended.
Mr Stanley's widow, Irene, says other officers should go back to work as the verdict "has nothing to do" with them.
She told BBC News: "They weren't there. It was to do with the two officers who got off with the killing."
'Difficult circumstances'
Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, has taken personal control of negotiations in the dispute.
He said he had great "sympathy" for the protesting officers, but "they must come back to work".
On Monday, at least 20 of the Met's 400-strong SO19 specialist firearms unit handed in their cards authorising them to carry weapons.
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
These two officers were required to make a split-second assessment and decision
Jan Berry
Police Federation
|
|
|
|
The Metropolitan Police Federation (MPF), which represents officers, said that by Tuesday over 120 firearms officers had handed back their authorisation to carry weapons.
The body also said there were no specialist firearms officers on duty in London on Tuesday.
Scotland Yard would not confirm the numbers involved in the protest but said the level of armed cover in London was "unaffected".
After the inquest - the second into Mr Stanley's death - the Crown Prosecution Service, which had previously ruled out bringing charges, said it would review the case.
Glen Smyth, chairman of the MPF, said the case had thrown into doubt all training and guidance given to firearms officers.
He told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The officers are very concerned that the tactics they are trained in, as a consequence of the verdict, are now in doubt.
"They want some clarity around what they are expected to do."
Chair leg
The Stanley family's solicitor Daniel Machover told Today the jury "did not believe the officers when they said they felt under imminent threat".
And he later accused the protesting officers of "misunderstanding what the inquest was about".
He said the jury's decision was not a "broad attack" on the tactics of firearms police, just that they did not accept that the two officers had acted in self-defence.
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
HAVE YOUR SAY
How can the level of armed cover remain unaffected if the police hand in their weapons?
Paul, Wales
|
|
|
|
Mr Smyth said he would consider mounting a legal challenge to the inquest's verdict.
Jan Berry, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said she was not surprised by the officers' reaction.
She said: "With the benefit of hindsight we can all say what we may have done but these two officers were required to make a split-second assessment and decision."
Mr Stanley, a father-of-three, was shot as he left a pub in Hackney, east London, carrying a table leg which had just been repaired by his brother.
The two officers fired the shots after mistakenly being informed that Mr Stanley - a Scottish painter and decorator who lived in London - was an Irishman with a sawn-off shotgun.
The Stanley family, originally from Lanarkshire, won a ruling in the High Court in April this year to have an open verdict from his first inquest quashed.
In a statement on Friday the Met said the death of Mr Stanley was regrettable and offered sympathy to his family.
I don't see any info on the scenario they were faced with, ie. Dark alley, Mr. Stanley raised his table leg as if it were an AK47, etc...
Also, firearms are illegal in GB, why would the cops think anyone would have one?
1. Criminals still have guns. In fact, quite a bit of criminal gun violence in the UK lately. . . since they disarmed the public. . .
2. Shotguns are legal in the UK.
1. Yeah, I know, it's difficult to show sacarsm on the internet.
2. Are they legal to carry?
Hell that is no big deal...in America we had a poor cop mistook a baby in a mother's arms for a
firearm and shot her in the head...
They let him off....
"The two officers fired the shots after mistakenly being informed that Mr Stanley - a Scottish painter and decorator who lived in London - was an Irishman with a sawn-off shotgun."
I think it was the part about him being an "Irishman" which set them off. The tableleg may have been an afterthought.(Sarcasm)
I think the gun crome rate has increased substantially in Britain since the ban on firearms became tightened. You can probably get in trouble in Britain for THINKING about a gun at this point.
Sad, isn't it?
I bet the criminals and terrorists loved to hear this.
Mr Stanley, a father-of-three, was shot as he left a pub in Hackney, east London, carrying a table leg which had just been repaired by his brother.... The two officers fired the shots after mistakenly being informed that Mr Stanley - a Scottish painter and decorator who lived in London - was an Irishman with a sawn-off shotgun.
At the lead sentence I found it an odd protest. Details revealed that these PO's are perhaps brighter than initially presented. Perhaps flash cards or a UK version of Hogan's alley would prevent this confusion between furniture parts and firearms. I fully support the surrendering of firearms by these yobs.
Uh, how about mandatory eye exams?
It's easy to show HTML sarcasm. It looks like this:
</sarcasm>
You get the < and > to print by typing the following:
</sarcasm> (lt for less than and gt for greater than.)
This is really going to affect tourism, I suspect.
" You can probably get in trouble in Britain for THINKING about a gun at this point."
I know it's illegal to carry laser pointers.
/rolleyes/
Moral of the story. Never aim a table leg unless you intend to pull the trigger.
Last time I tried that it didn't work. Maybe it was just user error...nah, I'd rather blame it on our liberal Network Manager here at work, it's more fun.
. . . but they were so impressed with his accuracy they gave him another chance at Waco.
Just add a <p> somewhere and it should work.
So what happened to the terrified sniveling little ninny who falsely reported the guy as being "An Irishman" with a shotgun?
(Isn't that an "Ethnic Slur", btw - or are slurs on Irish people exempt from "Hate Crimes" prosecution in jolly old England?)
All that's left now is for the British to arrest and prosecute the table leg for "Impersonating A Firearm With Intent To Deceive Officers", and "Causing Involuntary Death By Accidental Discharge Due To Firearms Impersonation".
Perfect time for a terrorist.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.