darts_aint_sport

It's not murder, it's self-defence.

If you want to blame anyone, blame the media for making this method the only way he can get any attention. Don't blame the security forces for wanting to do their jobs though.

Silvafox

iTrader: (1)

Yes I have heard of it and am aware that this cause and 100's similar exist. He risked a lot just to be publicised and worse of all he *risked* being shot by the armed Police he knew would have been there.

Ignore the cause for one moment. If a person is willing to go into a high security area without permission, especially when there are armed people around then they have literally said 'I accept the risks, I don't care if I am potentially gonna get hurt or fatally injured and sod all the trouble I'm gonna cause.'

santa2000

Mmmm attacks.. "read some history..." was the initial quote so, in the words of my 5 yr old daughter, "you started it!".

Otherwise, I am only being a bit twisted trying to get dummies/rattles thrown out the pram. Our line of thought is the same though.

shamrock

If the security forces were doing their jobs the chap wouldn't have got on the balcony.

darts_aint_sport

Indeed.

ozzy

Should've shot him? Get real people. FFS, how many of you lot would have shot him without asking yourself any questions.

The police made the correct call to "threaten" them. It worked for at least one of them. Batman obviously is either too stupid or just bet on his luck that they wouldn't shoot. If it were me I'd have been screaming at him that I was gonna blow his f**king head off if he didn't stop. Doesn't mean I'd actually do it, unless I was certain he was a terrorist. There's something about having a rifle pointed at your head and some force behind a command to stop you in your tracks.

Just look at all the uproar when the Police do shoot someone and later turns out to have been a mistake. The papers and public would have slaughter the cops if they shot him and then found out he was just a peaceful protestor.

It was a tough call and everyone has the benefit of hindsight to see that he was innocent and that was only after seeing his banner and costume on the ledge.

The simple fact that he was wearing a costume shouldn't automatically mean he's no threat, but I'm pretty sure the cops made a "gut feeling" decision and (IMHO) it was the correct one.

Questions have to be asked about how easy it was to get into the grounds, but a lot of it is just being blown out of proportion. Unless we want armed gaurds patrolling the walls/fence of the Palace 24/7 or razor wire all over it I can't see how you could stop someone at least getting over the fence.

I'm surprised he managed to get onto a wall and walk right around on the ledge through.

Stefan

darts_aint_sport

If you mean they got lucky, then yes they did.

Dracoro

No it isn't. If the guy had a weapon and was using it (or at least threatening to), then it would have been self defence.

ozzy

You make your own luck. It's the guy on the grounds decision at the end of the day. If he was lucky, good on him.

What would you have done. Shot and then asked questions later?

Yeah, right

I can't see the day where the SAS has a shoot-to-kill policy guarding the Palace. It's too public a building to enforce that.

It'll be a sad day when we start popping protestors, especially when they're fighting for the right to see their own kids.

Pretty sure Batman's kid(s) would have liked to have seen his head blown off

Some people have been watching too many Hollywood movies.

darts_aint_sport

It'll be an even sadder day when we see the Houses of Parliament or Big Ben get destroyed by a terrorist.

Besides, they don't have to shoot to kill, shoot to wound would have been more acceptable in this case

shamrock

Did I mention shooting him ?? Security isn't simply about shooting people. Try looking up the job role of a security team, you may be shocked though.

Dracoro

He was on a ledge so pretty hard to shoot to wound as he would have fallen off and probably died from the fall.

There are (or should be) security on the scene who know enough to determine whether or not there is a threat to national security. That way terrorists get shot and peaceful protestors do not.

Suresh

I wouldn't have been surprised if the protester had been shot . Would have been unfortunate, but not unexpected given the high state of alert. Hopefully the threat that they might be shot will make the Superheroes consider less risky methods of publicising their [worthy] cause in future.

Suresh

ozzy

We managed to survive 30yr+ with IRA threats. You shouldn't jump to conclusions about our own intelligence services. The threat should be stopped long before they get to strap a bomb to themselves and run at one of the buildings.

In fact, I could jump in my car right now and drive to the Scottish Parliament. The with some condoms filled with purple-coloured flour, walk into the public gallery, through all the metal detectors and simply throw some at the Scottish MP's.

Of course, everyone will start shouting how these could have been bombs or chemical weapons

Stefan

Claudius

If you could speak English, you'd write with correct grammar...

ozzy

Sorry, mis-read the post. I agree they should have stopped him well before that.

Stefan

shamrock

Thank you, I'm trying my best but it is a strange language to learn.

I'd have said your sentence would have read better as "If you could speak English, you would have written with correct grammar" Past tense, current tense and all that but you're the expert so I'm probably incorrect.

ozzy

If he'd have ran at the Whitehouse, I'm pretty sure he'd be dead.

I'm actually glad the Brits show a bit of common sense.

ozzy

You're doing better than a lot of users on here

darts_aint_sport

No-one would be stupid enough to try it at the whitehouse, which is why you don't see it happen there.

I would prefer a fortress to an open-house.

ozzy

It's not exactly open though is it.

He got as far as the Garden and never made it as far as inside the house

Claudius

"Fathers 4 Justice advocates peaceful non-violent direct action based on the Greenpeace model with a dash of humour thrown in for good measure. F4J is already raising awareness in a unique & sometimes provocative approach designed to challenge the government to respond to the crisis in Family Law."


Surely this is not the type of protestor who carries explosives or other illegal weapons? These people are just fathers who believe that the British justice is biased against fathers in divorce cases, an argument for which there is substantial evidence.


Security breach... gimme a break. If we start shooting people who chain themselves to official buildings in protest of this or that issue, we'll soon be back in the type of regime everybody fought against 63 years ago. This terrorism BS has got way too deep into British and US officials heads. They all need a 250,000 mg chill pill and should show us the WOMD and all the other stuff they claimed to fight before considering shooting innocent protestors.

ozzy

I agree, the fact that they were dressed as Batman and Robin just shouts British sense of humour.

That pill's a bit big. Is it a suppository?

darts_aint_sport

I feel like a broken record so I wont post again on the subject.

With hindsight, yes, we shouldn't have shot him. However, at the time, we don't know whether he is or isn't a danger. Whoever does something like that should know they are putting themselves in harms way. Better safe than sorry. That is all.

Claudius

You would be correct under the assumption that I ONLY meant that ONE sentence of yours, yes







PS:

SJ_Skyline

Exactly!! If they were dressed as The Penguin and The Riddler we would have known they were up to no good and the police could have shot them without a second thought!

Claudius

No, it's a pill you take with a glass of water

(British officials have no space left for suppositories as I told them to stick their WOMD and speed camera BS where the sun dont shine! )

ozzy

At the time, the security forces use their training, experience and knowledge of current threats as well as the situation itself to make a judgement call as to the level of threat.

It never gets any easier than that. That's why they go through rigourous training to get such a high level job.

If I stayed in London, I'd be more concerned with someone leaving a bomb in a litter bin than I would someone trying to blow up Buckingham Palace.

And yes, you do sound like a broken record. And a bad 80's new romatic band at that

Nick

Well, he was dressed as Batman was standing still on a ledge, had a big F4J poster!

lightning101

Can't argue with that nick.


They only threatened to shoot him once on the ledge, by that time the banner was out.


Then again Guy Fawkes was dressed in funny clothes and he was a terrorist