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Guns pointing at his head, a train passenger is forced to lie face-down on the platform in a dramatic police swoop.
Officers then dragged him to his feet and frogmarched him away to be searched and interrogated.
Minutes later, however, he was released without charge after it became clear that they had seized entirely the wrong man.
Originally posted by umbr45
And if they had not chased him because they were not sure and he had blown a train full of people up you would have still blamed the police. If he DID have a bomb then you would have blamed them for not shooting him and giving him a chance to trigger it.
They can not win, BUT this way they lose and everyone is still alive.
Originally posted by Nammu
reply to post by C.C.Benjamin
There's nothing responsible about acting on a whim, scaring a train full of people, pointing a loaded weapon at an unarmed and innocent man, then searching and detaining him. If that is being responsible, then damn it, I want to police to be irresponsible.
This is the UK, not the US. We have a tendancy to not poke guns at people unless we know it's the last resort. Or at least we used to until now.
Minutes later, however, he was released without charge after it became clear that they had seized entirely the wrong man.
The Bournemouth incident, captured on a passenger's mobile phone camera, came after armed officers were called to the station to arrest a suspect following a previous 'armed incident'.
A colleague travelling on the train wrongly identified the 21-year-old passenger as the wanted man in that case and tipped off colleagues.
Originally posted by Nammu
This reeks of the Charles De Menezes incident. Luckily no one was hurt this time.
Originally posted by Nammu
Is this what Britain is coming to?
Is this the slow introduction of a police state?
Originally posted by Nammu
This man must have been terrified at receiving such treatment. All because of a case of mistaken identity. Surely the police must have to be 100% certain that someone is armed and dangerous before pulling a gun at a member of the public? Apparently not anymore.
Originally posted by Nammu
Personally, i lose more and more trust in the police each day. I sympathise with this man, who must have been totally shaken by this ordeal.
Originally posted by Nammu
Reply to stumason: Thanks for contributing. I always like your posts I'm from Earth last time I checked, but sometimes I do wonder.....I agree they can never be 100% certain, but they had the processes and procedures in the past that meant they didn't have to deal with things in this way. It's only in recent years we see this more and more frequently. The police are fearful, the people are fearful, so therefore we accept them pointing guns more, when in previous years it would have been dealt with in a different manner. People haven't changed, but the way they handle people certainly is changing IMO.