Police turn in guns - can we blame them?

I totally support the police in this. Of course it would be beyond awful if it was my son, or yours, but things like this will very occasionally happen.
We should thank our lucky stars that we don’t live in America, where this is a regular occurrence. Here in the UK it is very rare.
Plus, do we know the man was innocent? Why was he being challenged? Did he follow police orders? Lots of questions, but not many answers.

GrannyGravy13

The car was stolen, the driver should have pulled over immediately he was asked to.

Instead he fled and tried to avoid capture

There is more to this case than is in the public domain, rightly so as it’s an active case.

Have just reread my post

Instead he tried to flee

No I don't blame them at all

I'm surprised we have any police officers left, armed or not. Such a stressful job

Every effort was made:

Police vehicles were said by witnesses to have boxed the car in, and witnesses claimed that Kaba ignored repeated orders to get out of the vehicle, and was trying to ram the Audi through the roadblock.[6] Armed officers exited their vehicles then approached the Audi on foot.[5] According to the IOPC, a police officer fired a single round at Kaba through the car's windscreen, striking him.[5][6] He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries just after 12:00 am the following day.[7]

I don't want an armed police force that goes into every situation thinking they have to shoot.Hopefully officers are properly trained and have officers who instruct them. If you give an officer a gun and he uses it unnecessarily then he has to be accountable, otherwise we risk falling into chaos. I've not read all the details of this case, but I would imagine every effort has been made to deal with the matter internally and prosecution has been a difficult but necessary provision.
If police officers don't want to carry a gun that is entirely their decision.

BlueBelle Sparklefizz I think you are being provocative...

I am not being provocative but I have police officers in the family so maybe I have more experience of this kind of situation than you do.

BlueBelle Chris Kaba had served time in a Young Offenders Prison for carrying a firearm previously. Perhaps if you read this info, you will have a better understanding of the pressures the police were ... and always are ... under, in order to keep the rest of us safe.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Chris_Kaba

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Hmm
Does it not come down to training as well as suitability for the job.
I would like to understand how it came about that a man was shot dead through his car window. Mistaken identity? Is that enough?
And have we forgotten how 15 (?) years ago , Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead at Stockwell station in London. His brutal killing shocked at the time as an example of the tragic consequences of police violence and racism.
And don’t forget Wayne Couzens was also a member of the armed officers in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP) Command.
The other unit identified in the recent enquiry is the Met's Specialist Firearms unit, known as MO19, a team where "normal rules do not seem to apply."
There is clearly much that is not right within the Met and their Firearms Unit perhaps needs to be completely restructured.

The car was stolen, the driver should have pulled over immediately he was asked to.

Instead he fled and tried to avoid capture

There is more to this case than is in the public domain, rightly so as it’s an active case.

Well not in this case it seems Grannygravy
Kaba was driving a car which was first rammed before being boxed in by police. He was killed by a single shot that entered through the driver’s side of the windscreen of the Audi

My goodness what chance did the poor man have no questions asked just boom boom dead why not shoot, the car tyre, shoot his arm, shoot his leg
Shoot him dead without a question absolutely no different to the US police in this instance, a million miles normally but in this occasion not a pin between them
Would you all be so sympathetic if it was your innocent son/brother/ nephew

My word I have no understanding of you all now

GrannyGravy13

BlueBelle

I can’t believe I m hearing this does this man’s life not matter
Would it be outrageous if your innocent son was killed lovetopaint

Why can’t officers shoot in the foot/ leg to immobilise not to kill

Shooting someone in the leg will not prevent them firing back if they were armed.

Our armed police have to know that their employers have their back in order to protect the general public and carry out their duties.

... and the person who was shot was sitting in a car - how could you aim for his leg/foot BlueBelle ?

I'm afraid I am with BlueBelle on this. Whilst I appreciate they have split second decisions to make, there still have to be balances and checks. This has obviously been investigated before the officer was charged and the evidence has been sufficient to merit a trial. The public have a right to expect their armed police to work within the law.

BlueBelle

I can’t believe I m hearing this does this man’s life not matter
Would it be outrageous if your innocent son was killed lovetopaint

Why can’t officers shoot in the foot/ leg to immobilise not to kill

Shooting someone in the leg will not prevent them firing back if they were armed.

Our armed police have to know that their employers have their back in order to protect the general public and carry out their duties.

This situation is totally different from that of George Floyd.

U.K. police is light years away from US police.

I can’t blame them. It’s a spilt second decision and if the officer is held responsible then no one would do this job as is being proved. It’s awful for the family of the innocent person but unless the police officer deliberately killed him then it’s a hazard of the job. I support the police in this.

I can’t believe I m hearing this does this man’s life not matter
Would it be outrageous if your innocent son was killed lovetopaint

Why can’t officers shoot in the foot/ leg to immobilise not to kill

To answer the question, This reaction was to be expected.

You give officers a job and ask them to carry a firearm. Then someone who they think is dangerous is killed in a split second decision. It’s unfortunate but it’s a risk. To then haul the officer up for murder for doing a job that many do not want to do but do to protect the public is outrageous.

I don’t blame the police officers for not wanting to carry arms after this incident. but an unarmed man was shot dead point blank, that’s not right So what’s/ who s to blame Someone has to hold responsibility just as in the George Floyd case
The officer in question, the training?
There can’t be innocent people shot dead

No.

I'm 100% behind the police officers on this one. The pressure put on them and their families while a long-winded investigation goes on after a fatal shooting must be awful.

Totally support the Firearms Units over this.

It’s the SAS who are on standby in London, their training and ethics are very different from Met Firearms Officers.

A split second can mean the difference between life and death of an officer or member of the public by an armed criminal.

No, I don't blame them at all. It is right to hold investigations, but they are acting legally and have to make a split-second judgement and they need some protection.