Over Kill or Not ?

[cd02]

Okay, so i was reading my local news site and there is a story about a guy walking through town yesterday at 4pm holding an axe and knives, within minutes of it been reported, 7 police cars and a police chopper were there to sort it out..

since, there has been comments left on the story saying this is over kill and the police went ott.

What do you think ?

Here's the story if you're interested and please bear in mind that over here, its still the first week of easter hols so there would have been alot of kids around at the time..

this is gloucestershire - news, sport, entertainment, jobs, homes and cars

[robbo90]

i dont think it was ott, if it was in america then he would have been shot!

[wolf]

I think if it was in my town and there was a guy walking around with an axe id like to know the police weren't taking any chances.

[vix]

To be honest I'd rather read that story than about a town of people being slaughtered. At the time they have to react .. perhaps he was creating a diversion for something bigger or maybe he was meeting up with others coming from different directions who all had the same weapons or could potentially pose a bigger threat.

At the end of the day it's surely best to err on the side of caution until the threat has been properly assessed.

So, while it does seem a little excessive that many police cars and a chopper for one chap ... I would feel pretty safe living in that town right now! If nothing else, it's maybe a good deterrent for future incidents.

[Bazza]

Sorry, I can't focus. How can it only be the first week of Easter holidays yesterday? That's baffling me?

[arcticfox]

Originally Posted by Bazza

Sorry, I can't focus. How can it only be the first week of Easter holidays yesterday? That's baffling me?

different areas seem to have different holidays. The other night just before the Liverpool V Arsenal game (sorry bazza) the commentator mentioned that the kids could stay up late as there was no school.

[Bazza]

Woa, so were there people in school on Good Friday and Easter Monday?

[cd02]

no they still have easter bank hol's off but the 2 week easter holiday is at different times...

[the_icks]

quick, call the police the thread has been hijacked!!

it is nice to see the police doing something..... imagine if they had just sent a pcso!!

[Kirstie]

I think private schools have their holidays now because easter was so early this year...

I dont think it was OTT at all, there was a potetial mass murderer at loose!

[cd02]

Originally Posted by Kirstie

I think private schools have their holidays now because easter was so early this year...

I dont think it was OTT at all, there was a potetial mass murderer at loose!

they're all public schools over here... its just down to the areas and councils me thinks...

[-null-]

Originally Posted by cd02

Okay, so i was reading my local news site and there is a story about a guy walking through town yesterday at 4pm holding an axe and knives, within minutes of it been reported, 7 police cars and a police chopper were there to sort it out..

since, there has been comments left on the story saying this is over kill and the police went ott.

What do you think ?

Here's the story if you're interested and please bear in mind that over here, its still the first week of easter hols so there would have been alot of kids around at the time..

this is gloucestershire - news, sport, entertainment, jobs, homes and cars

Yes I think it was overkill. They don't need 7 police cars and a chopper when a couple of armed officers would suffice. And TBH I'm surprised it wasn't kids with the axe and knives.

[the_saint]

Seems they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. I guess the question is how many police office does it take to apprehend a psycho carrying an axe and knife? If they had only sent a couple of officers and it hadn't been enough what would have happened?

The other thing to consider is it is not just a case of stopping him, but potentially (when the call came in) as far as they knew they might have had to cordon off an area of the town round him, block roads etc. Takes a lot of police to do that.

Remembering back to when I worked in a offy and we had a robbery, there were three police and about 5 or 6 police officers who responded to that, so this seems proportionate all things considered!!

[Bazza]

Did the article mention what the person was doing with the axe and knives? Could've been a wood sculptor or something lol.

[tronsmith]

Originally Posted by the_saint

Seems they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. I guess the question is how many police office does it take to apprehend a psycho carrying an axe and knife?

Why did you jump to the assertion that he's a psycho?

[claire80]

i dont think it was overkill at all what if he had started to use them or like someone said was meeting up with others, plus if hes been reported with an axe and guns how do you know he hasnt got anything else ?

[the_saint]

Originally Posted by tronsmith

Why did you jump to the assertion that he's a psycho?

Why are you assuming he isn't? Wouldn't it be dangerous for the police to assume he isn't a psycho?

When someone calls the police saying "there is a man with an axe and knifes walking around the city centre" what assertion would you prefer the police to jump to? (a) That he is an innocent man simply out buying an axe and knifes to use for legitimate purposes at home, or (b) that he is a murderous psycho who is about to go on a killing spree with said weapons.

If (a) then the police should not respond at all, but would you really want that in the circumstances? If they get a call like that they have to assume the worst and respond accordingly - if they don't they are negligent and face a severe reprimand not to mention numerous dead and dismembered bodies.

The point is that it seems a lot of people are debating this with hindsight, which the police did not have at the time. They had to make a quick assessment of the situation - assume he is a murderous psycho and send the appropriate numbers.

If they just sent a couple of officers to suss the situation out would they have been able to stop a murderous psyhco with an axe? I doubt it. So if they had to call in back-up how long would it have taken to arrive? And how much damage would have been caused in that time?

I'm sure we have all seen reports on the news and in the press in the past of people going on killing sprees in town centres with knifes, axes, and swords. This sort of thing happens. For all the police knew at the time this was one such incident about to occur. They had to respond appropriately.

Looking at the loss of life that has occured in previous similar incidents it is clear that potentially a number of people could have been killed. I just don't think it is overkill to send 7 police cars to an incident where there is such a risk of a high loss of life.

But hey, if someone can put together a logical and reasoned argument to the contrary then please do. It just seems the people who do think it was overkill aren't actually giving any reasons for thinking so.