As best as i can remember from the news, this is what
happened:
The police had put a flat under surveillance. This was related to
the hunt for the London Bombers. The block of flats in question
only had one means of entry and exit. Mr M, the victim, was living
below the flat under surveillance. When he walked out of the block
of flats on the day in question, the police decided to follow
him.
They followed Mr M to a bus-stop where he took a bus and alighted
near stockwell station. By this time, the police armed response
unit had been given orders to stop Mr M.
Mr M. was challenged by the police at the entrance of stockwell
station by plain-clothes officers. He did not comply with orders to
stop. He vaulted over the ticeketing barriers of the train station
and ran down the escalators towards a train. He tripped and was
then pinned down by pursuing officers. The officier in question
fired 8 shots at him; 1 into his shoulder and 7 into his
head.
Some pertinent facts:
- Mr M was olive skinned.
- Mr M had on a bulky jacket. This was mentioned by Mark Whitby, an
eye-witness. One poster above had neglected to mention this. Tsk
tsk.
- It was claimed by a TV station that MR M had outstayed his
student visa. His parents dispute this, saying that all his
paperwork were in order.
----
Personally, i think we should not be too quick to go on a witch
hunt. This might very well be an honest mistake.
Some of you argue that there was no need to shoot him, or that
there was no need to shoot him in the head. I disagree. This is
because the only way to make safe a suicide bomber is to utterly
and completely destroy his brain. One shot to the head might not be
enough to stop all motor functions. I have not seen a man being
shot in the head, but i have seen footage of farm animals being
shot and from what i have seen, animals like cows retain some motor
function even after having been shot in the head at close
range.
I also feel that some are too eager to fling words like 'racist
killing' around. This might very well be an honest mistake.
Mr M emerged from a block of flats that is under surveillance, He
looked 'Asian' (which is what the london bombers can be described
as), he had been wearing a bulky jacket when the temperature was
around 23 deg Cel., and more importantly, he refused to stop when
challenged. He might very well have been justified in running away
because the officers were, after all, not in uniform. IMO, that is
probably what happened. If so, then i do not think the fault lies
with the officer who pulled the trigger. I think luck, fate and the
met police share equal blame.
Kym, you argue that he could have been stopped earlier. I disagree.
UK policemen do not generally carry firearms. Therefore, it would
seem logical to let the firearms unit do the arrest.
