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Trigger happy cops
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| shaolin_Z |
Stupid in' cops! :whip:
| quote: |
Man police shot 'lawfully killed'
Officers who shot dead a man brandishing a gun-shaped lighter acted lawfully, the High Court has ruled.
Derek Bennett, 29, was hit four times by two marksmen in Brixton, south London, on 16 July 2001. The officers said they thought the gun was real.
Mr Bennett's relatives reacted angrily as a judge upheld an inquest jury's verdict that police acted lawfully.
The family of the dead man said the original decision made in December 2004 was fatally flawed.
Mr Bennett's mother rose to her feet and cried: "They murdered him. They murdered him. They murdered my son."
'No alternative'
Another relative cried out: "How many times do they have to shoot a man before they consider him harmless?"
Mr Bennett died when armed officers opened fire as he grabbed John Knightly, 53, and held the "weapon" to his head.
The inquest heard Mr Knightly wriggled free, at which point Mr Bennett turned the novelty lighter on police and tried to take cover behind a pillar as they fired six shots at him.
| quote: | The jury decided on the evidence that was before them that this was a lawful killing
Mr Justice Collins |
The family's lawyer Michael Mansfield, QC, told the hearing that the Southwark coroner was anxious to protect the police from an improper verdict against them and so effectively "became the jury".
As a result, the 11 jurors had no alternative but to return a verdict clearing the police, he told Mr Justice Collins.
But Judge Collins rejected the argument, saying the jury had been correctly directed that lethal force could be used where it was reasonable, having regard to all the circumstances.
"The jury decided on the evidence that was before them that this was a lawful killing," he added.
After the judgment, Mr Bennett's brother Daniel said the decision was "disappointing... but expected" and the family would take the case to the Court of Appeal. |
Murdering scum bags. "Oh, look, he's black. Shoot him!" :rolleyes:
EDIT: I almost forgot Source: BBC |
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| Spacey Orange |
| it must have been a big lighter. |
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| donnybrasco |
| Glad I don't live in England...........seems they bend over backwards there to protect the "rights" of criminals. I've seen those gun-shaped lighters. They look very MUCH like a real gun. This guy holds it to someone's head and the cops are expected to do what exactly? Pfffttttt.........cry me a river for the poor dumb-ass and his lighter gun.:crazy: |
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| skot_e |
My first thought - He must be African-American.
Can't blame the cops tho, how are they gonna know it's a lighter. They react to the menace they see.
Should have taser guns for things like that. Really no need for bullets. |
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| donnybrasco |
| quote: | Originally posted by skot_e
My first thought - He must be African-American.
Can't blame the cops tho, how are they gonna know it's a lighter. They react to the menace they see.
Should have taser guns for things like that. Really no need for bullets. |
Really? If the cops thought it was a real gun, why would you expect them to approach this guy armed with just a taser gun? They'd be putting there lives at serious risk had that gun been real (which they again, had to assume it was). A taser's effective range isn't that great at all. They'd have to get really close. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
you pull a replica gun and point it to someone\'s head and you get shot for it!?!? oh my god!
seriously, what the hell do you expect? if it hadnt been a fake gun would we even be having this argument? |
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| skot_e |
| quote: | Originally posted by donnybrasco
Really? If the cops thought it was a real gun, why would you expect them to approach this guy armed with just a taser gun? They'd be putting there lives at serious risk had that gun been real (which they again, had to assume it was). A taser's effective range isn't that great at all. They'd have to get really close. |
Not aware of the range specs of the taser... |
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