Strange

[louiselux]

Today's disturbing news is: Police shoot man in Tube station. Either they knew he had a bomb on him and was very likely to set it off or-- who knows? The description of how the shooting took place is very disturbing. Armed police in this country don't have a very good track record. I'm thinking about the man who got shot for possession of a table leg.

Comments

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Latest reports were that he may have been wearing a bomb belt. If so, presumably the police shot him to prevent him from potentially setting it off and killing not just himself but also them and innocent passersby.

Let's wait until we've got the full story before passing judgment on whether the police used unreasonable force, and 'executed' him, huh. Possibly they did but at the moment we just don't know. As a lawyer I have to say this time and again to people - do not make judgements until you know all of the facts.

The stories that are coming out are necessarily partial and confused and even the witness who said that he tripped said that the dead man was wearing a thick, bulky coat, which is suspicious bearing in mind the weather. In addition, other reports suggest that he fled *into* the station pursued by police, leaping over the barrier. Why didn't he stop?

Other reports are that he was told by the police to stop and that they'd fire if he didn't. He didn't stop, he was wearing a bulky coat, there are reports of him wearing a bomb belt.

Some of those may not be true. All of them may be. At present we don't know.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

I think the sooner the police tell us what happened with this man the better. Either way, it's incredibly depressing and scary.

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is. According to Sky News website, the police definitely challenged the suspect, and I therefore think it likely that they acted in accordance with procedure.

I think it a safe bet that they would rather not have killed the man, but would have preferred to have him alive to question, in the hope he could provide them with vital information. It is likely therefore that they really did feel that they had no choice in order to protect the public.

*shakes head in amusement*. Ah, the irony. Here I am, a criminal defence lawyer, to whom the police are necessarily the 'enemy', and who has to be fully aware of all the little tricks they use in order to try and get a 'result' from a case. And yet, here I am defending them.

Look, I hold no particular trust for the police in a work situation but they're not cold-blooded killers. Not in Britain, they're not.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Point taken. I don't think they're cold blooded killers either, but apart from that I don't know what to think about today until, as you say, there's more information.