“police waited helplessly for armed officers to arrive”
This is disgusting. The police not being armed in the U.K., in spite of an increase in crime and violence in the country, stand by unable to do anything at all. And of course Britain’s citizenry is disarmed also. The horrors of gun control shows itself in all its glory.
Firstly, the original police were not helpless, and had the men not been armed with a gun, would have stopped the incident (they are armed with tasers, CS spray, pepper spray, batons). Where a gun is involved, armed units take over. That is police procedure.
Secondly, the UK although with a rise in violence and crime, is still (hype aside) a country with low levels of serious violence. Our murder, gun murder and gun crime rates are a fraction of the US. There is no need for all UK police to be armed. The police dont want it, and the public (myself included) does not want it.
Thirdly, you parrot the myth (despite people like myself correcting it daily) that the UK has no guns. 2.3m guns in fact. Yes, the gun laws passed (1988, 1997 and 1920-1968) were bad laws, but the UK does have guns. Of course, the UK has never been a gun owning public, which is why the gun laws passed with little anger and even support. Myopic, but there you go.
Well if they can't carry firearms how about swords?
Do they not have tasers?
Even having a long baton you can beat the crap out of someone with a short knife. I speak from experience.