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Policewoman shot dead in robbery


Dr Kenneth Noisewater
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A female police officer has been shot dead and another seriously injured as they responded to an armed robbery in the centre of Bradford.

 

The gunmen are still at large, with surrounding roads closed and dozens of armed police patrolling the area in an effort to track them down.

 

The officers were called to Morley Street at 1525 GMT to deal with a robbery at a travel agent.

 

Tony Blair said he was "shocked and saddened" by the death.

 

Staff assaulted

 

One eyewitness told BBC News the robbery was at Universal Express travel agent.

 

Members of staff at the family-run business were assaulted and cash taken.

 

It is thought the officer who died was in her mid-30s and may have been a "probationer" - of less than two years' service.

 

A Downing Street spokesman said Tony Blair was "shocked and saddened" to hear of the shootings in Bradford and "his thoughts go out to the family and friends of the officers involved and to West Yorkshire police force".

 

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said: "While incidents of this sort are mercifully rare, they serve to remind us of the risks and dangers police officers face every day in their work to uphold the law and protect the public."

 

Councillor Khadam Hussain, whose ward covers the area where the shooting happened, said he was shocked by the officer's death.

 

He said: "It is appalling. I really feel for the family. It is shocking. This is a business area with a lot of restaurants and takeaways. It is not the kind of area you expect this to happen."

 

Two years ago Pc Ian Broadhurst from West Yorkshire police was shot dead in Leeds.

 

Former US Marine David Bieber was given a life sentence for the execution-style killing at Newcastle Crown Court in December 2004.

 

The last female officer killed in the UK was 29-year-old Pc Alison Armitage in March 2001 - she was run over and killed by a car thief in Oldham Lancashire.

 

Before Friday's incident, the last police fatality was Det Con Michael Swindells who was fatally stabbed by a paranoid schizophrenic in May 2004 in Birmigham.

 

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Shocking. Used to live a couple of streets away from where it happened.

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leeds, bradford is getting worse for gun crime. i used to live round the corner from the july 7th bombers in leeds. not a nice place to be at the minute, so much more visible racism around than there is up here

58008[/snapback]

 

So you've gone from a gun crime directly to bombings and racism based entirely on location.

 

The poor woman's died serving us because of a couple of low life's, let's not turn it into another racism rant thread eh? Normally when a person dies people offer condolences, even Eddie Guerrero got more respect.

 

RIP

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leeds, bradford is getting worse for gun crime. i used to live round the corner from the july 7th bombers in leeds. not a nice place to be at the minute, so much more visible racism around than there is up here

58008[/snapback]

 

So you've gone from a gun crime directly to bombings and racism based entirely on location.

 

The poor woman's died serving us because of a couple of low life's, let's not turn it into another racism rant thread eh? Normally when a person dies people offer condolences, even Eddie Guerrero got more respect.

 

RIP

58012[/snapback]

 

get a grip dickhead. i lived there for 3 years, im entitled to my own opinion. my post was about the fact that west yorkshire isnt a very nice place at the minute, racism, gun crime etc. etc. wasnt starting a discussion, get rid of that chip on your shoulder and wind your neck in!

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leeds, bradford is getting worse for gun crime. i used to live round the corner from the july 7th bombers in leeds. not a nice place to be at the minute, so much more visible racism around than there is up here

58008[/snapback]

 

So you've gone from a gun crime directly to bombings and racism based entirely on location.

 

The poor woman's died serving us because of a couple of low life's, let's not turn it into another racism rant thread eh? Normally when a person dies people offer condolences, even Eddie Guerrero got more respect.

 

RIP

58012[/snapback]

 

Indeed, RIP and show respect.

 

However, how do you know it isn't racial ? It might be, it might not be. For suggesting that very thing you are as paranoid as those who you taint with the racist brush yourself.

 

I wonder if the policewoman gave them a chance to lay down their weapons or not first .... as certain people would have them do that .......

 

One thing is for sure, a fully armed police force is coming and events such as this are what will make it happen. More people than ever take life cheaply now, this attitude has increased in this country, and it has came from somewhere.

 

How long will the killer get, and when will he or she be let out ?

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Indeed, RIP and show respect.

 

However, how do you know it isn't racial ? It might be, it might not be. For suggesting that very thing you are as paranoid as those who you taint with the racist brush yourself.

 

I wonder if the policewoman gave them a chance to lay down their weapons or not first .... as certain people would have them do that .......

 

One thing is for sure, a fully armed police force is coming and events such as this are what will make it happen. More people than ever take life cheaply now, this attitude has increased in this country, and it has came from somewhere.

 

How long will the killer get, and when will he or she be let out ?

58034[/snapback]

 

I don't have a clue (armed robberies are usually about the valuables though, not race). It was J69 brought it up. I hadn't even considered it, which was why I responded as I did.

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I'd imagine the police woman was shot because she confronted fleeing armed robbers, not because she was black / white / asian, but anything's possible.

 

I'd say the main worry about arming all / most coppers is that even the pettiest criminals would be tripping over each other in the rush to arm themselves to even the playing field. Cops in the US are armed (along with many potential victims), and gun crime hasn't exactly been eradicated.

 

In a sort of related matter, I read some survey the other day claiming that 80% of gun crime is criminals shooting other criminals.

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leeds, bradford is getting worse for gun crime. i used to live round the corner from the july 7th bombers in leeds. not a nice place to be at the minute, so much more visible racism around than there is up here

58008[/snapback]

 

So you've gone from a gun crime directly to bombings and racism based entirely on location.

 

The poor woman's died serving us because of a couple of low life's, let's not turn it into another racism rant thread eh? Normally when a person dies people offer condolences, even Eddie Guerrero got more respect.

 

RIP

58012[/snapback]

 

Indeed, RIP and show respect.

 

However, how do you know it isn't racial ? It might be, it might not be. For suggesting that very thing you are as paranoid as those who you taint with the racist brush yourself.

 

I wonder if the policewoman gave them a chance to lay down their weapons or not first .... as certain people would have them do that .......

 

One thing is for sure, a fully armed police force is coming and events such as this are what will make it happen. More people than ever take life cheaply now, this attitude has increased in this country, and it has came from somewhere.

 

How long will the killer get, and when will he or she be let out ?

58034[/snapback]

 

I really feel for her family, RIP. I don't think a fully armed police force is the answer though. I'd be concerned it would fuel rather than solve the problem of gun crime - you need only look at America.

 

I don't get the impression she was given much of a chance to engage with them in anyway, let alone ask them to put the weapons down.

 

I don't think J69 meant any disrepect with what he was saying, I just thought he was saying that there was a real crime problem in the area.

58037[/snapback]

 

Absolutely no relevance. America has a constitution entitling it's populace to firearm ownership. Not so here. A better comparison would be europe where the police are armed and gun ownership is not as widespread..

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leeds, bradford is getting worse for gun crime. i used to live round the corner from the july 7th bombers in leeds. not a nice place to be at the minute, so much more visible racism around than there is up here

58008[/snapback]

 

So you've gone from a gun crime directly to bombings and racism based entirely on location.

 

The poor woman's died serving us because of a couple of low life's, let's not turn it into another racism rant thread eh? Normally when a person dies people offer condolences, even Eddie Guerrero got more respect.

 

RIP

58012[/snapback]

 

Indeed, RIP and show respect.

 

However, how do you know it isn't racial ? It might be, it might not be. For suggesting that very thing you are as paranoid as those who you taint with the racist brush yourself.

 

I wonder if the policewoman gave them a chance to lay down their weapons or not first .... as certain people would have them do that .......

 

One thing is for sure, a fully armed police force is coming and events such as this are what will make it happen. More people than ever take life cheaply now, this attitude has increased in this country, and it has came from somewhere.

 

How long will the killer get, and when will he or she be let out ?

58034[/snapback]

 

I really feel for her family, RIP. I don't think a fully armed police force is the answer though. I'd be concerned it would fuel rather than solve the problem of gun crime - you need only look at America.

 

I don't get the impression she was given much of a chance to engage with them in anyway, let alone ask them to put the weapons down.

 

I don't think J69 meant any disrepect with what he was saying, I just thought he was saying that there was a real crime problem in the area.

58037[/snapback]

 

agree Bridget, it was just a general comment about showing respect not aimed at anyone in particular.

 

I think it is a very sad situation that more coppers will be armed in this country, it's not a desirable situation at all, sadly it will come though. You can't allow cops to be left defenceless when they are doing their job/duty.

 

I'm sure if we turned the clock back 20 or 30 years, we would find this sort of occurence was far less frequent than now. It seems to be happening all the time ...

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you need only look at America.

Absolutely no relevance. America has a constitution entitling it's populace to firearm ownership. Not so here. A better comparison would be europe where the police are armed and gun ownership is not as widespread..

 

Well there's just been one of the most senior police officers on the news saying exactly that, that we should look at America for evidence that arming police isn't the way forward. Didn't catch his name, but it's similar to what others have said.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4451640.stm

 

Keith Hellawell, a former chief constable of West Yorkshire police, said: "There is no demand from within the service to arm the police."

He said successive polls among all ranks had shown there was no majority support for officers to carry guns as a regular occurrence.

 

Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens said: "We throw away at our peril the type of policing we have had for hundreds of years in this country.

 

"We must have an unarmed force."

 

Sir Ian Blair, the current incumbent, has said 90% of the Met is unarmed and he "wants to keep it that way".

 

The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, is opposed to all officers having guns

 

But its chairwoman Jan Berry said there was a shortage of armed response units.

 

"When we did a survey three years ago of all police officers, over 80% of police officers said they did not believe that every police officer should be routinely armed," she told BBC News.

 

"They did, however, express concern that not sufficient officers were trained to carry firearms.

 

 

I'd have no problem with having more specially trained firearms officers. But I'd be more inclined to support the arming of rank and file police officers if there was more support from within the police force themselves for such a measure. Of course there are police officers who want to be armed, and there are prominent coppers and groups like Protect the Protectors lobbying for it. But such views certainly don't seem to be held very widely by the rank and file of the police force.

 

Just anecdotally, one of my mates is a retired copper who was in the force for about 20 years and he said he wouldn't want to be armed. He's a big bloke though, maybe he'd think differently if he was a young lass. The only other copper I know probably would want to be armed, but he's an utter arsehole so I certainly wouldn't trust him with a gun.

Edited by BlueStar
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  • 5 months later...

this whole deportation thing goes both ways....

 

australia are supposedly about the deport a bloke born here who has a history of abusing young boys.

 

i bet when he arrives at heathrow theres fucking uproar

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this whole deportation thing goes both ways....

 

australia are supposedly about the deport a bloke born here who has a history of abusing young boys.

 

i bet when he arrives at heathrow theres fucking uproar

131290[/snapback]

 

pay an asylum seeker to shoot the bastard

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Absolutely no relevance. America has a constitution entitling it's populace to firearm ownership. Not so here. A better comparison would be europe where the police are armed and gun ownership is not as widespread..

58082[/snapback]

 

Glad someone brought that up, France doesn't seem to have any of the problems the US has. It's very important how it's handled, though, and to be honest I'd worry about the English government on that front.

 

On a side issue I don't think the US constitution does actually allow firearm ownership. "The right to bear arms" is quoted completely out of context in a section that paraphrased runs - the right to bear arms in the event that a public militia is required - or something.

 

Anyway, RIP, it's a bloody shame, why ever it happened.

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Absolutely no relevance. America has a constitution entitling it's populace to firearm ownership. Not so here. A better comparison would be europe where the police are armed and gun ownership is not as widespread..

58082[/snapback]

 

Glad someone brought that up, France doesn't seem to have any of the problems the US has. It's very important how it's handled, though, and to be honest I'd worry about the English government on that front.

 

On a side issue I don't think the US constitution does actually allow firearm ownership. "The right to bear arms" is quoted completely out of context in a section that paraphrased runs - the right to bear arms in the event that a public militia is required - or something.

 

Anyway, RIP, it's a bloody shame, why ever it happened.

131393[/snapback]

 

Aye I've read a bit by Bill Hicks pointing that out as well. You're right though - you need the special combination of a right to bear arms.......and a nation of morons to get what they have in the US.

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Aye I've read a bit by Bill Hicks pointing that out as well.  You're right though - you need the special combination of a right to bear arms.......and a nation of morons to get what they have in the US.

131395[/snapback]

 

:blink: Bit harsh, like. Too much White Zinfandel for you this evening, I reckon.

 

Love all the People by Bill Hicks? I've read that, very enjoyable. I think the issue may be slightly more complex than he makes it out to be. I prefer it when he talks about mushies tbh.

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The Police being armed would be a slippery slope for me. I don't always go along with 'slippery slope' style arguments, but I think the police being armed would create a different climate in this country and it wouldn't necessarily be for the better. As BlueStar points out above, the Police don't want arming and the responsibility it carries.

131398[/snapback]

 

I've lived most of my life in countries where the ordinary police force aren't armed, and it's really been no culture shock to move to France, where the real police are armed (I do get the urge to grab the gun and play with it when I pass one, but have thus far resisted). The UK would be much closer to here in that it's a 'mature' country, but, as I've said, for some reason your government do seem to make a balls-up of Law & Order. And if they got this wrong you might never recover, so, overall, I'd tend to agree with you.

 

I think the problems in the US have feck all to do with gun-control, it's a nice excuse but their problems run far deeper than one law. So it's a handy stick to bring out in this debate, but it's not a valid argument imo.

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Aye I've read a bit by Bill Hicks pointing that out as well.  You're right though - you need the special combination of a right to bear arms.......and a nation of morons to get what they have in the US.

131395[/snapback]

 

:blink: Bit harsh, like. Too much White Zinfandel for you this evening, I reckon.

 

Love all the People by Bill Hicks? I've read that, very enjoyable. I think the issue may be slightly more complex than he makes it out to be. I prefer it when he talks about mushies tbh.

131401[/snapback]

 

Semillon Chardonnay actually. :huh:

 

Aye, Love all the People. Good read.

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Aye I've read a bit by Bill Hicks pointing that out as well.  You're right though - you need the special combination of a right to bear arms.......and a nation of morons to get what they have in the US.

131395[/snapback]

 

:blink: Bit harsh, like. Too much White Zinfandel for you this evening, I reckon.

 

Love all the People by Bill Hicks? I've read that, very enjoyable. I think the issue may be slightly more complex than he makes it out to be. I prefer it when he talks about mushies tbh.

131401[/snapback]

 

Semillon Chardonnay actually. :huh:

 

Aye, Love all the People. Good read.

131436[/snapback]

 

 

 

*sniggers*

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