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[holygeesus]

This is the moment a 16-year-old was just “two millimetres” from being shot in the chest after armed police responded to reports he was carrying a gun.

Police have highlighted the case after a huge rise in the number of incidents involving ‘fake’ guns on the city’s streets.

In the heightened atmosphere of alert following a series of terrorist attacks, West Midlands Police are concerned at an increase in people carrying replica, ball bearing (BB) or air guns in public.

In just the last three and a half months police officers have been faced with 80 incidences of people carrying these kinds of ‘weapon’.

The case in the shocking video, above, took place in 2012 in Erdington High Street where a 16-year-old was just “two millimetres” from being shot in the chest after armed police responded to reports he was carrying a gun.

The teenager and his friend had been seen with a gun tucked into the waistband of his trousers and a member of the public made a 999 call.

Armed police arrived within minutes and cornered the two teens.

At the time Constable Rob Pedley, from West Midlands Police firearms unit, said: “The officer drew his gun and he squeezed the trigger and saw the hammer coming back and knew if he squeezed another two to three millimetres he would be shooting this person in the chest. It could have been a lot more serious.”

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/watch-moment-16-year-old-11650630

Link to video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehzq9OdE2w0

I thought this was an interesting video worth sharing, as it shows some pretty mind-blowing police work on behalf of the two officers concerned, and the difference in training there has to be between the UK and US police officers. Watch the second angle of the incident - how quickly the police officers draw their weapons, and are ready to shoot - blink of an eye stuff.

Notice how quickly everything happens too - dumb of the kid to pull the gun out, but the outcome could have been so much worse.

 

[Perih Xoph]

Yeah. If this happened in the US, the dude would have ended up full of lead.

 

[kirblar]

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/watch-moment-16-year-old-11650630

Link to video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehzq9OdE2w0

I thought this was an interesting video worth sharing, as it shows some pretty mind-blowing police work on behalf of the two officers concerned, and the difference in training there has to be between the UK and US police officers. Watch the second angle of the incident - how quickly the police officers draw their weapons, and are ready to shoot - blink of an eye stuff.

Notice how quickly everything happens too - dumb of the kid to pull the gun out, but the outcome could have been so much worse.

Plenty of incidents in the US end up like this - you just don't hear about them on the news. (There are also a lot more incidents like this in the US for obvious reasons.)

 

[Spaghetti]

Close call, holy shit.

But yeah, UK firearms officers are generally incredibly well trained. Not flawless, mind you. Jean Charles de Menezes and Mark Duggan are the only high profile Police shootings I can recall though, and that's in the space of ten years.

 

[Gintoki]

The youtube video is from 4 years ago

 

[Jezbollah]

Close call, holy shit.

But yeah, UK firearms officers are generally incredibly well trained. Not flawless, mind you. Jean Charles de Menezes and Mark Duggan are the only high profile Police shootings I can recall though, and that's in the space of ten years.

There were serious lessons learnt by the de Menezes incident (and quite rightly so) but there is no doubt that the UK's armed police units are outstanding at their job.

 

[Bold One]

There were serious lessons learnt by the de Menezes incident (and quite rightly so) but there is no doubt that the UK's armed police units are outstanding at their job.

On top of that there was a full and proper investigation and most those involved were held responsible, as far as I recall/

 

[daviyoung]

The youtube video is from 4 years ago

it's an old incident being used by the police to make people think before carrying toy guns in public

 

[kmag]

Plenty of incidents in the US end up like this - you just don't hear about them on the news. (There are also a lot more incidents like this in the US for obvious reasons.)

UK firearms officers have to go through standard police training (28 weeks), then complete two years as probationary officer without disciplinary action. Then after initial interviews and enhanced security screening they have to go through a 14 week firearm training course to become a AFO. Then there's further much longer training for SWAT equivalences.

In the US the median training is 18 weeks.

 

[TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared]

Strict rules of engagement innit. UK police in general are pretty great I find,

 

[Nordicus]

In the US the median training is 18 weeks.

For real?

Disgusting

 

[Pantaghana]

For real?

Disgusting

The exact specifics of training vary between states, but yes, for real.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

About 8 years ago when I was around the age of 16, me and my friends often met up in the woods to have little shoot outs with our BB guns.
The was only a small strip of forrest right in the middle of a suburban area, so on our way there people saw us with our toy guns and called the police.
Thankfully the officers arriving didn't even draw their guns. The just told us to keep the guns in our backpacks on the way to the little forrest and they gave us a number to call when we are playing, just so that the police knew what was going on in case someone called them again.
At the time I didn't think much of it, but in hindsight that was actually pretty cool of them.

 

[Hissing Sid]

Yeah when I was a kid I used to regularly go rat shooting at the local tip on a weekend with an air rifle. Every Sunday morning I'd walk down the street with a carrier bag which contained my cheese sarnies and the rifle would be in a bag slung across my back. Police never even blinked. But then that was the 70's/80's.

Nowadays I imagine the police chopper would be up and I'd be surrounded by armed police screaming at me to lay down my weapon. All televised live on the Beeb with 'Breaking News!' scrolling along the bottom of the tv. Oh and the bomb squad would probably blow up my suspicious sandwiches.

A brave new world.

Even now though I still think our armed police are a lot more erm, restrained than their American counterparts. It's the fucking Wild West out there! Sod that for a game of soldiers.

 

[Xando]

I mean that's what happens when you're properly trained not only with guns but also with decision making and deescalation.


Imo American cops need a lot better training

 

[Rubbish King]

I love my country.

Spoiler

couldn't find pigeontear.jpg

 

[haxamin]

The power of British policing.

 

[Bony Manifesto]

Yeah when I was a kid I used to regularly go rat shooting at the local tip on a weekend with an air rifle. Every Sunday morning I'd walk down the street with a carrier bag which contained my cheese sarnies and the rifle would be in a bag slung across my back. Police never even blinked. But then that was the 70's/80's.

Nowadays I imagine the police chopper would be up and I'd be surrounded by armed police screaming at me to lay down my weapon. All televised live on the Beeb with 'Breaking News!' scrolling along the bottom of the tv. Oh and the bomb squad would probably blow up my suspicious sandwiches.

A brave new world.

Even now though I still think our armed police are a lot more erm, restrained than their American counterparts. It's the fucking Wild West out there! Sod that for a game of soldiers.

I think that's all on the Dunblane school massacre. Even though we're almost numb to mass shootings happening around the developed word, that one still stands out as being particularly evil. There's no way the country could retain a casual approach to firearms after that.

 

[DiscoJer]

I was reading an article defending police shootings by saying that the public should be forced to go through those drills where you have a gun out and cardboard people pop-up, some with guns, some with other objects and you have to decided which ones to shoot.

(If you've seen the Dirty Harry movie Magnum Force, that's what I'm talking about)

I think that pretty much illustrates what is wrong with police training - they seem to have this idea that everyone is fair game, everyone is a potential threat unless they prove they are not. And if mistakes get me, well, oops.

When the reality is that cops should never assume that people are just lurking in shadows waiting to pop out and shoot them.

Does that happen? Sure. But a hell of a lot less than cops opening fire on citizens (at least in the US).

 

[Hyun Sai]

I especially like the approach of the cops, no weapons out, and one hands up to not be seen as hostile.

 

[Kinyou]

The hell was the kid thinking. Not sure you could really blame the cop if he had fired

 

[PjotrStroganov]

The nonchalance of the guy almost killed him. Respect for the officers.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

Dumbass kid.
The way he drew his gun out, jesus.

 

[RK9039]

Stupid on his part but he was just a kid, probably scared shitless.

Would have been way different with US cops I'm guessing.

 

[whitehawk]

I thought British police didn't carry guns... No?

 

[Kathian]

Close call, holy shit.

But yeah, UK firearms officers are generally incredibly well trained. Not flawless, mind you. Jean Charles de Menezes and Mark Duggan are the only high profile Police shootings I can recall though, and that's in the space of ten years.

Their firearms officers. So they tend to be better trained than the bobby with a spare gun.

 

[Hoo-doo]

I thought British police didn't carry guns... No?

Regular beat cops usually don't carry their service weapon unless the situation calls for it, correct.

 

[Rich!]

I thought British police didn't carry guns... No?

Each force has an armed response unit, but those select few are only despatched in serious situations, and it takes years of navy-esque training to be firearm eligible. Standard officers do not carry guns.

 

[Moreche]

Another reason is in the UK you can't own a gun as easily as the US.
So if seen carrying one then suspicions are greater.
Another reason why this law should be in every country.

 

[JordanKZ]

I thought British police didn't carry guns... No?

They're specially trained. Normal officers have tasers though.

 

[Royal_Phalanx]

Excellent professionalism and restraint here. This is why the airsoft community frowns on this sort of thing. I wish people were more responsible with replica guns. I own a few and I don't ever bring them outside of my house with me unless in a bag and going to an airsoft field.