You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Britain
London police defend shoot-to-kill policy
2005-07-25
Posted by:Fred

#33  Cause its London, not Jerusalem!
Posted by: gromgoru   2005-07-25 20:47  

#32  Aha. So the lad's parents are upset because they thought they'd sent him somewhere he'd be safer.
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-07-25 19:18  

#31  To put Brazilian complaints in context: Police violence has long been a fact of life in Brazil. Amnesty International reports that in 2004 there were 663 killings by officers in Sao Paulo state, and 983 in Rio de Janeiro state.
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever)   2005-07-25 18:48  

#30  Stupidity is a terminal illness. This case proves it.

Howard, what's the chances of getting a gang of renegade Welsh miners to take out the BBC? Seems to me that would warrant a medal or something from Parliament.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2005-07-25 17:41  

#29  he had overstayed his visa

kinda makes my suggestion of deportation look tame, no?
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-25 16:19  

#28  Fox News reported he had overstayed his visa, wotta surprise, and authorities say that was probably why he ran.
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 16:04  

#27  U.S. SWAT team snipers are trained to shoot and sever the medulla oblongata. The boomer or perp as it is cannot pull the trigger or detonator. These police officers had a couple of seconds to make a decision. They were brave in that they did not know they would not be blown up. Let's wait and find out more about the Brazillian. Why was he wearing a heavy coat in warm weather. Why did he run? Why did he not stop when commanded? He did understand English from what I understand. Why did he vault a turnstile? Why was he coming out of a house that had been under surveillance for suspected terrorists. The police made a righteous shooting as far as I can tell. The one officer might have to go back to the range for more practice.
Posted by: John Q. Citizen   2005-07-25 15:55  

#26  Dude sadly died from his own stupidity.

Had he not been acting stupidly, he would not have been shot, period.

Shoot to kill, necessary and welcome.

EP
Posted by: ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding   2005-07-25 15:29  

#25  Sad but understandable.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2005-07-25 13:43  

#24  Unless I've missed a correction to the story, he *did* come out of a house frequented by Islamoboomers, right?

not corekt lotr.

Police had been watching the block of apartments on Scotia Road near Stockwell where Menezes was staying and later raided a home there.

soundn more liker partment bildin
Posted by: muck4doo   2005-07-25 12:59  

#23  LH - wonder what Ken's response would be had 7/7 and 7/21 not stirred up even his citizenry
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-25 11:21  

#22  WIse words from Ken

*faints*


If only we could get Ken to spend a year as the mayor of Netanya, he might gain even more wisdom.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-07-25 10:44  

#21  "Sor-ree!"
-- Monty Python
Posted by: mojo   2005-07-25 10:42  

#20  WIse words from Ken

*faints*
Posted by: Howard UK   2005-07-25 10:19  

#19  'London Mayor Ken Livingstone described Mr Menezes as a "victim of the terrorist attacks".

He said: "Consider the choice that faced police officers at Stockwell last Friday - and be glad you did not have to take it." '

I find myself in complete agreement with the above.

Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-07-25 10:07  

#18  I think it is important to conduct a full investigation here--this was a serious incident and a tragic misunderstanding. It's important to determine whether or not the police were uniformed or able to identify themselves to the victim. It's also important, as Shieldwolf stated, to ensure police are trained to hit potential suicide bombers with head shots, not body shots!

That being said, dressing unseasonably warm in a long, bulky coat while jumping turnstiles in a subway system that has been bombed twice in recent weeks to flee from police is NOT a smart thing to do--especially if you're a young male of a complexion that can be mistaken for Middle Eastern. It's unfortunate this idiot had to die for being nothing more than ignorant, but it sends a clear message that the UK is serious--deadly serious--about stopping terror.

I only hope this incident doesn't hogtie the police response in the future. It was regrettable, but it was also necessary.

And to the miserable apologist who asks what's wrong with us, understand this: We are at war. Incidents like this will happen when you are trying to defend a population from fanatics who are willing to kill themselves while taking as many innocent men, women, and children with them. These incidents are regrettable, but they are reactions to the real problem, not the problem itself.
Posted by: Dar   2005-07-25 09:53  

#17  Unless I've missed a correction to the story, he *did* come out of a house frequented by Islamoboomers, right? If that is true, then perhaps he wasn't as innocent as the BBC is making out? Just because the police didn't have anything on him doesn't make him "innocent" except in the legal sense.

Hanging out with that crowd, then running like he did in a subway that's been bombed *twice* in two weeks... well, I hope the next cop pulls the trigger quick (and repeatedly) when faced with the same situation.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats   2005-07-25 09:14  

#16  Shooting victim had expired visa...BBC.....
Posted by: Dutchgeek   2005-07-25 08:54  

#15  As to the victim's mistake it's obvious enough that you don't run like a rabbit from the PO's and especially so when you are in a place that is under heightened security due to terrorist attacks. One would expect better discretion from a Brazilian abroad. The PO's though should look to learn from the incident.
Posted by: MunkarKat   2005-07-25 08:24  

#14  Were the police justified in shooting this dummy?Damn straight.The only question that needs answering is:Why was he running?
Posted by: raptor   2005-07-25 08:09  

#13  what is wrong with you people

Not. A. Thing.

Posted by: Robert Crawford   2005-07-25 08:09  

#12  Darwin Award nominee?
Posted by: Aldos Huxley   2005-07-25 05:31  

#11  The BBC has wanked itself into a frenzy over this for four days now. The bombs of 7/7 and the last week's failed attacks were being described on the Today programme (BBC Radio 4) this morning as the 'London incidents'. The Egyptian attacks and the investigations in London have had to play second fiddle to this story. Utter loonies. They should have had the photos of the bombers at the front of each bulletin like the other channels. But, as so often with the Beeb news, fuck the majority of people and concentrate on some poor prick from the minorities.

If this guy thought he was under threat why didn't he approach the uniformed coppers that are in all tube stations at the moment? Why vault the barrier? Prick deserved to be shot. South American? Coke dealer? Mmmmm...
Posted by: Howard UK   2005-07-25 05:12  

#10  TGA even look sideways at a cop in Brasil. I can assure people in Brasil stop when told to do so by the police.

There is no "shoot to kill" policy. It is a shoot to save lives policy. The UK police and are head and sholders above many police force in this world. This is totally blown out of importance.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom   2005-07-25 04:47  

#9  Please let's spend time on the war on terror and not on an individual that did not comply to police instructions. To which groups and elements in society do we have to defend this policy....?
Posted by: Dutchgeek   2005-07-25 03:49  

#8  It's certainly a sad thing that it happened. But given the circumstances the police had no choice. They had reasons to believe what they believed and the guy did not stop and ran towards the train.

The "shoot to kill policy" sounds drastic. But as long as you stop when police tells you so you won't be shot.

Try running away from drug police in Rio...
Posted by: True German Ally   2005-07-25 02:53  

#7  I'm willing to bet in the not too distant future. The police hesitate to shoot and as a result a boomer blows up people.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-07-25 02:37  

#6  Nothing, why?
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 02:27  

#5  what is wrong with you people
Posted by: Elmoting Phaiger1295   2005-07-25 02:18  

#4  Unfortunately, I do think there should be an investigation of the shooting, since the English Media reported that one of the five shots was to the body. If that is true, the shooting officer will need to be sent back to pistol training, since the whole idea of doing head shots is to avoid body shots on kamikazees with belt bombs. Detonators tend to react badly to bullets.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2005-07-25 01:53  

#3  What was it that Heinlein said about stupidity?
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-07-25 00:54  

#2  Well said, SPo'D - right on the money in every way. *applause*
Posted by: .com   2005-07-25 00:11  

#1  Nothing to defend. This guy did all the wrong things and that is why he is dead. This will waste time of investigators who could be used elsewhere and be ruled a good shooting in the end.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom   2005-07-25 00:06  

00:00