In reply to THE.WALRUS:
Why would there be leftie outrage over this. Your reference to Duggan reads as if you're getting confused between 'lefties' and 'self-entitled yob rioters'. It's a strange conflation.
In the spirit of assuming innocence before proving guilt we can note the following:
- A suitably trained and equipped officer, using professional judgment in conjunction with established intel on the subject, identified a potentially lethal threat and seeing no other way to reasonably neutralise said threat, exercised lethal force in the course of their duty.
What's to get outraged about? I'm a leftie, and my sympathy lies firmly with the officer involved. Assuming he or she had a reasonable belief that their action was justified, having taken a life they must now undergo rigorous investigation, and as such will be under tremendous emotional stress. Even so, the process exists for the very best of reasons - to ensure that power is not abused.
Our elected Govt founded the IPCC, and stipulated the mandatory referral to it, of cases such as police shootings. As such we have a powerful independent body set up to ensure that the rule of law is adhered to by all, and that professional standards within the police are held to a reasonable standard. The IPCC will investigate this case and recommend accordingly.
While there may have been questions to answer over Duggan (themselves covered adequately in the IPCC report on the case), that in no way excuses the actions of the rioters. I don't think any credible commentators either on the left or right were sympathising with the rioters, or even getting particularly outraged over the use of lethal force in the Duggan case (just over the issue of whether it was in fact justified).
Such a judgment is extremely hard to make in real time with the very best of intentions, and that is reflected in the comprehensive list of recommendations the IPCC made in their report following the Duggan shooting. Provision for (legal) use of lethal force by police officers remains a sad but real necessity. Meanwhile, most people (regardless of political affiliation) are able to understand that, if one is transporting illegal firearms while being involved in organised crime, it behoves one to do exactly as the officer instructs when stopped.
Again, nothing here to generate outrage.
Jim - while it may be one less 'scroat' to worry about, it's still a life. We don't live in the f*cking Philippines, where summary execution is the new norm. I doubt very much that the officer involved is feeling good about it, so I'm not sure the schadenfreude is really justified.
Luke
Post edited at 18:38