Philgr

Pity the same isn't true when the US military or private security services do it :curse:

Dogbyte

You have to look at the complete picture as known at that time of the incidents faced by both the Police and Government.Terrorists believed still active and believed capable of continued violence against the general public.I concur that the higharchy of both Police and Government should have been quicker to acknowledge that a mistake had been made and by making certain comments too soon placed an unjustified amount of pressure on officers who risked their own lives in that station.If he had been a bomber they would have been killed aswell.A policy was in place which had been tried and tested and that is a dead terrorist does not explode bombs.
You say shoot him in the leg.That happens in the movies not in real life (I speak from experience)This is not to sound flippant over the matter, but you have to remember that the British Police are still learning by the faults as carrying firearms was not until recent years, a normal practice. I regret any loss of life but the circumstances warranted a regrettable death of in this case an innocent person.On not too a lighter note though, if De Mendes had not been an illegal alien, he would have been back in Brazil !.

Leslie

So the guys that were following him weren't armed?

Scouse Express

The Femoral Artery is located in the leg. If that gets cut......you're in big trouble within seconds.

Jim.

Dogbyte

Correct, one of them that eventually got to the station was, but that was part of the confusion that reigned over the whole situation.The surveillance officers gave way to the armed response officers who immediately went to the platform,onto the train and killed him.An unarmed surveillance officer was actually holding his arms on the train to stop him detonating a believed device.When the armed officers saw that they assumed he was trying to detonate a bomb, so they neutralized him', as they say.The actual surveillance officer was nearly shot in the chest aswell due to his action at it was only because he screamed he was 'Police' he didnt get done aswell.

Dustydog

In dealing with desperate suicide terrorists, they are trained to shoot to kill. A wounded suicide bomber can still carry out his task.

A tragic mistake everyone would agree, but that's that.

hatfield1

Ok Thanks. What is everyone on here a doctor now?

Dustydog

Apply tornaquet, elevate limb, but if you think he's a baddy, shoot him again.

hatfield1

Manc

this bit I agree with.

Scouse Express

Me????? 14 years in the St John Ambulance Brigade, from age 11 upwards.

Invaluable First Aid Training
Free Touchline Seats For Liverpool & Everton (and Directors Box)
Free Concert Admission For The Liverpool Empire
Free Spot At Beechers Brook for The Grand National

etc etc.

What a life

Jim.

paddingtongreen

Oh get off the spin for once Ray. Sure people sometimes die from wounds to extremities but rarely, if it was usual there would have been a hell of a lot less people coming home from wars.

paddingtongreen

Balls, the police have had trained shooters forever. I remember them issuing guns to certain "properly trained" policemen, when they were hunting for Gunther Podola, and that was a while ago.

anotherlimey

A shot in the leg means you can still let a bomb off, had they known he didn't have a bomb, he'd still be alive (and not limping either probably).

anotherlimey

Just think about that for a second, put yourself in the position of the armed police.

You confront a would be suicide bomber with a detonator in his hand, and you shoot him in the leg/arm. Don't you think he might just get pissed off? Bear in mind you're going to have to be pretty close to do it with a pistol, close enough that his explosive belt is going to give you a new type of face lift.

Not the best idea.

The problem here was that the victim was wrongly identified as a potential suicide bomber. The guys who pulled the trigger were not at fault (as I believe has been established at the hearing already), they shot to stop a perceived threat.