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

[daegaer.livejournal.com]

Very, very disturbing. Armed police aren't so great here, either.

[snowballjane.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm afraid Harry Stanley was my first thought too. I know they have split second decisions to make, but if the eye witness accounts are accurate it's very worrying. I don't care what someone was planning to do, summary execution is Not On.

[saralotte.livejournal.com]

It's a bit worrying isn't it - personally being surrounded by policeman with huge guns doesn't make me feel any safer.

I was on the district line last night and some idiot left their bag behind. Someone else, feeling jumpy, pulled the alarm. Then a tube worker got on, kicked the offending bag, picked it up and took it away. Not a bomb, then. I expect you have to have a lot of training to do that.

[rochefort.livejournal.com]

The police's record in these things isn't too bright, but it is consistent -- shoot first, say sorry later. If you're an Asian male, unfortunately carrying a backpack anywhere in London these days is going to get you looked at twice. It's a bad development all round.

[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.