UK policeman in playdoh - AI

tips for tourists in London

  1. Don’t ever wear a bulky padded coat, or ‘innapropriate clothes’. It could be fatal.
  2. Backpacks are highly suspect. Especially black ones with wires sticking out, making ticking noises, or smoking. It’s such a fashion no-no
  3. Don’t be asian, arab, muslim, bearded, or johnny foreigner. You WILL be treated with suspicion.
  4. If you get shot it’s your own fault for being ‘forrin’
  5. Have a nice stay!

Seriously it’s totally nuts that someone could get shot for wearing a padded coat, having a belt with wires (he was an electrician! fancy that?) and not stopping for plain clothed police with guns.

I mean if someone with a gun asked you to stop, would you? Who knows if they even identified themselves and this guy had a good reason to run (I guess Brazilian authorities aren’t known for their kindliness to some people?).

Anyway shame about the Brazilian guy (that well known islamic hotbed for fanaticism!) and respects to his family. I do hope they sue the arse off S019 and the Met police. Yes everyone’s jumpy, the terrorists are still on the loose apparently, but trigger-itchy police in a mostly gun-free country really doesn’t help.

What’s next, I get blown away for fare evasion?

Comments

4 responses to “tips for tourists in London”

  1. Andrew avatar
    Andrew

    Oh sure; let’s all bash the police. And if he had been a suicide bomber like all the signs pointed to?

    Seriously; if someone tells you in an authoritan voice to stop in London today; YOU FUCKING STOP! You don’t start running! I’m guessing those bullet’s hit more air than grey matter.

    This may just be the most unfortunate incident but I really don’t hold the policemen responcible. Everyone has to admit – it was pretty fucking suspect.

  2. tim avatar
    tim

    well have you looked into the witness testimony and what’s been reported in the press?

    1) they trailed the guy as he took the bus from Tulse Hill to Stockwell, and didn’t stop him in front of the house, or on the bus. They chose when he got off at a busy tube to try and stop him. They probably could have stopped him anytime. It’s certainly odd to let a suspected bomber take a bus don’t you think?

    2) They didn’t identify themselves as Police according to witnesses (as reported in the press)

    3) They only put on their Police caps after they started chasing him, again according to witness reports (in the press today).

    We’re not talking about coppers in full uniform here!

    Pop quiz: several people coming running after you casually dressed unidentified with guns? What would you do?

    Stop and get shot?

    Shoot to kill is an evil policy, and should be saved for the times where really it is a bomber on the trigger and as a total last resort. I remember IRA ‘suspects’ getting gunned down in London in the 80’s because they unfortunately looked like someone but were totally innocent…afterwards it’s easy to say sorry but the person’s dead. Who exactly do you say sorry to?

    And sorry there was no ‘bullets hitting air’ – they had this guy on his front on the floor of the carriage held down and pumped 5 shots into him (probably his head, since they don’t do chest shots), according to witnesses in the carriage. This is why people are upset…that doesn’t sound like an ‘unfortunate incident’ to me. That was reported as fact when he was thought to be a bomber so I doubt people felt ‘sorry’ for him then.

    I guess we might find out for sure many months from now, when the investigation gets buried and appears on page 32, during a busy news day. Or maybe not, depends how the Met and S019 close ranks.

    It’s a shame as police and emergency services did a great job on 7/7, patient, calm and helpful. Then 22-23/7 comes along and they really bodge it by getting all nervous and trigger happy.

    The people of London seem calm, I’m not sure sure about the police and anti-terrorist squads…they worry me. They seem to be going into a jumpy sort of paranoid hyperdrive, and I doubt that helps anyone.

  3. MK avatar
    MK

    As I predicted earlier, it turned out that he was a visa overstayer…..I guess that’s why he ran and he took his chances….

    https://web.archive.org/web/20080723192007/http://notyourusualbollocks.squarespace.com/journal/2005/7/25/jean-charles-de-menezes.html

    MK

  4. tim avatar
    tim

    shit, I didn’t know Finn knew this guy…:-( Visa overstay? No wonder he ran, he probably thought the immigration police here do have guns, like other countries…poor guy.

    I had a shock when I heard it was a Brazilian guy in his 20’s as he sounded like an ex-colleague of mine, who I remember wearing padded jackets even in the warmest days complaining about the cold. Fortunately I think he went back to Brazil, but I was fearing the worst.

    It might seem odd to the British, but not to those from warm countries. Heck even I wear big coats on warm days by accident…

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