Well here's an interesting article by Timothy B. Lee: Cop accused of tackling 15 year old in retaliation for videotaping:

A New Jersey police officer and his employer, the township of Hanover, are facing a million-dollar civil rights lawsuit after the officer allegedly tackled a 15-year-old boy in retaliation for his use of a video camera to document the encounter.

In March 2012, Austin DeCaro and two friends cut through Black Brook Park on the way to the home of one of the boys in the group. Because the park is closed at night, they were stopped by Joseph Quinn, a plainclothes officer in an unmarked car. The boys sat on the curb on Quinn's orders. DeCaro, who says he carries a camcorder with him everywhere he goes, decided to document the encounter.

"Turn that video camera off right now, or it's going to be mine forever," said a voice on the videotape that DeCaro says belongs to Quinn. When DeCaro asked "why," there was a scuffle as Quinn allegedly tackled the 100-pound teenager.

"Now you're under arrest," the police officer said in the video. "You get off of me," DeCaro replied.

The video appears to show the camera being thrown. DeCaro says it was damaged as a result.

"They were going to charge him with obstruction, vandalism, and being in the park after dark," DeCaro's father told a local television reporter. But when the video of the encounter was shown to the police chief, the department "dropped all charges except for being in the park."

In May, the family filed a lawsuit against Quinn and the city, charging the officer with using excessive force and violating their son's constitutional rights. Now Quinn is getting some unwanted publicity thanks to a story on the local television news. The police department declined to comment for that story, citing the pending lawsuit.

I suppose it is a good thing the the kids weren't black and wearing hoodies. And we wonder why kids are so disrespectful of authority figures when they frivolously add charges just to nail your ass to the wall for things you never did (e.g. vandalism, obstruction). If the kids didn't have video proof, who would a judge believe: the kids or a police officer?

@Gary -

The real issue is cops are taught to kill anything they don't understand because it is a threat. They are not taught situational awareness or permitted to think. All this because of a massive overreaction to the possibility of an officer being injured. Being injured is part of the job description.

That may be true elsewhere, it is not true in the UK.

@Bobby -

Does the Merseyside police force have a similar division to the Met's SCO19?

As I live in London I usually refer to SO19 (now SCO19) SCO19 which is the Met's armed response force, and we also have the ARV units as well. As far as I know every Chief Constable in the UK has a similar response force in their own patch.

Surrey - ARU
Merseyside - ARU

Late edit - We also have the British Transport Police as well. BTP. If a situation is serious enough SAS units can be called in, as in the case of the Libyan Embassy in 1980.

So this thread has wandered a bit. Lets bring it back to basics. Police were called to a home for the mentally ill. Resident turned nasty and attacked police, police shot him dead.

As described that incident could not have happened in the UK because as we have tragically seen recently daily policing does not include the use of guns, and a call to a home for the mentally ill would not in the first instance been passed to SO19.

This incident is very similar to the Kelly Thomas case, except in that case it was fists and batons that were the deadly weapon.

The real issue is cops are taught to kill anything they don't understand because it is a threat. They are not taught situational awareness or permitted to think. All this because of a massive overreaction to the possibility of an officer being injured. Being injured is part of the job description.

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So this thread has wandered a bit. Lets bring it back to basics. Police were called to a home for the mentally ill. Resident turned nasty and attacked police, police shot him dead.

As described that incident could not have happened in the UK because as we have tragically seen recently daily policing does not include the use of guns, and a call to a home for the mentally ill would not in the first instance been passed to SO19.

Unless the incident took place in Northern Ireland (last time I checked, it was still part of the UK, and its police force routinely carry firearms). The circumstances of Andrew Kernan's death are somewhat similar. Does the Merseyside police force have a similar division to the Met's SCO19?

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

So this thread has wandered a bit. Lets bring it back to basics. Police were called to a home for the mentally ill. Resident turned nasty and attacked police, police shot him dead.

As described that incident could not have happened in the UK because as we have tragically seen recently daily policing does not include the use of guns, and a call to a home for the mentally ill would not in the first instance been passed to SO19.

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The US would be safer if the laws were enforced. There are some states that if you use weapon in a crime you get 10 years no parole added on to your other sentances. We have thousands of federal laws that never get put to use. I know thats its a crime to falsify your application to buy a gun. If you are a known felon you cant even be in posseion of one. In my state the law says you go to jail being in possesion of a pistol that is not rgeisterd to you.

Enforce the rules we have.

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Old James

There are armed police on regular patrol at certain sites....

Victoria Street (New Scotland Yard), Welsh & Scottish Offices, Horseferry Road as well as certain MoD Buildings & I'm pretty sure there are others.

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Yes and there is the Ministry of Defence Police

But as a UK citizen I do not see them as I go about my daily business. I have only ever seen armed police at Heathrow and Gatwick. When in New York EVERY single officer was armed. Did I feel safer in NY knowing every officer had a gun, no of course not, it meant that statistically any bad guy was likely to carry a gun to

People are splitting hairs here. The mainland UK police force is not armed and long may it stay that way.

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I don't know when during the year you were here, or your location, but SO19 armed police are usually deployed when there is a hostage situation, or a wanted person resists arrest. Thankfully it doesn't happen too often. You will also see some during visits by the Queen to various places.

2004 30 March: Seven men arrested in West Sussex in possession of 600 kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, as part of Operation Crevice.
2004 3 August: Fourteen men arrested, but only eight charged in relation to the Financial buildings plot following the leak of the identity of an Al-Qaeda double-agent.
2004 24 September: Four men arrested in the Holiday Inn in Brent Cross trying to buy red mercury, a mythical substance which could purportedly be used to construct a nuclear bomb

The experiences of Bernie and I, only go to show that my previous comment was correct. In that each country equips their police force in a suitable manner to deal with the day to day threats that they face. America and most of Europe is para-military, and I guess a lot of the rest of the world is as well.

There is a mainland civilian police force in the UK that is routinely armed, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. Also, while on airport duty, police officers are routinely armed.

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

I believe that armed police do patrol airports in the UK.

I saw them at Heathrow and the entrance to RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall.
And Im sure I spotted some in London near Buckingham Palace.

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Old James

I believe that armed police do patrol airports in the UK.

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I don't know when during the year you were here, or your location, but SO19 armed police are usually deployed when there is a hostage situation, or a wanted person resists arrest. Thankfully it doesn't happen too often. You will also see some during visits by the Queen to various places.

2004 30 March: Seven men arrested in West Sussex in possession of 600 kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, as part of Operation Crevice.
2004 3 August: Fourteen men arrested, but only eight charged in relation to the Financial buildings plot following the leak of the identity of an Al-Qaeda double-agent.
2004 24 September: Four men arrested in the Holiday Inn in Brent Cross trying to buy red mercury, a mythical substance which could purportedly be used to construct a nuclear bomb

The experiences of Bernie and I, only go to show that my previous comment was correct. In that each country equips their police force in a suitable manner to deal with the day to day threats that they face. America and most of Europe is para-military, and I guess a lot of the rest of the world is as well.

I found it. The 4th SS Panzer Grenadier Division ( Polizei ) Was formed from memberes of the German police in Oct. 1939

I belive Italy police are para-military also.

@Chris- I did see armed police when I was in Enland in 2004. Not a lot, but i did see them.

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Old James

@Bobby - When a police force is routinely armed on day to day business, then I do think it is fair to call them para-military in nature.

In that case I guess you'd use that label for most European police forces.

Don't mess with the Spanish Guardia Civil, like Chris I was driving in a back road near La Linea in a car with English registration, Suddenly coming the other was was a Guardia Civil Nissan Patrol, as it saw us it, stopped and blocked the road 4 armed officers lept out, two with guns out and proceeded to search the car, on the pretex of looking for drugs. Apparently they do it a lot to foreign cars. It was very frightening at the time. It was many years ago now but that image is still very real.

I am still happy I live in the UK. So far our police don't need guns and I hope they never do.

+1

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In that case I guess you'd use that label for most European police forces.

Yes of course I would. And, you don't mess with the French armed officers I can assure you!

Many years ago we came back on a minibus from the Belgian beer festival, and traveling along a French motorway towards the ferry port we all got caught short, and stopped on the hard shoulder and popped over the embankment to do the necessary. When we got back to the bus, a van load of armed police were surrounding it. They were all nervously fingering the guns in their holsters and it was actually a bit frightening at the time.

One of the lads spoke basic french and explained the situation, and that we needed to catch the ferry home. They weren't amused, but let us go. I am still happy I live in the UK. So far our police don't need guns and I hope they never do.

@Bobby - When a police force is routinely armed on day to day business, then I do think it is fair to call them para-military in nature.

In that case I guess you'd use that label for most European police forces.

I would think that is a correct term. Germany During WW2 had police in a divison of Waffen SS. I cant think of the name at the moment, Let me hit my books.

Both Germany & France have para-military police forces. Don't know about the rest of Europe.

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@Bobby - When a police force is routinely armed on day to day business, then I do think it is fair to call them para-military in nature.

In that case I guess you'd use that label for most European police forces.

Depends on the country, Italy has seven police forces. The Carabinieri are the premier police force, and are part of the Military. The others have specific resposibilities.

Law enforcement in Italy

@Bobby - When a police force is routinely armed on day to day business, then I do think it is fair to call them para-military in nature.

In that case I guess you'd use that label for most European police forces.

I would think that is a correct term. Germany During WW2 had police in a divison of Waffen SS. I cant think of the name at the moment, Let me hit my books.

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[/quote]

Old James

@Bobby - When a police force is routinely armed on day to day business, then I do think it is fair to call them para-military in nature.

In that case I guess you'd use that label for most European police forces.

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...