Riots in London: should police be allowed deadly force?

[Sweetdeath]

Getting off topic... XD

[Willow]

I went out for a quick panic buy this morning, while the yobs were in bed.
So we are home and safe and my city is on fire.  I'm not close enough to smell the smoke.

[Willow]

There are lots of them tonight.  Hundreds, maybe more than a thousand.  More heading in by the sound of Twitter.
I don't think the police should be shooting them, but a water cannon or maybe some tear gas wouldn't hurt.
It's scary but I am not praying for Manchester tonight.

[xSilverPhinx]

I have been following this only superficially, but do they still have some sort of cause or are they just ganging up to loot and vandalise property? ???

[Whitney]

I think that shotguns are pretty standard for game hunting because you don't have to be a perfect shot to actually kill the animal with the first hit.

Anyway, considering how mob mentality makes people do things they may otherwise restrain themselves from doing I think it's a good idea to avoid deadly force if at all possible.

There has to be some sort of something that can be used to knock them all out without killing them or getting too close for the police's safety....some sort of gas or something.

[The Magic Pudding]

There has to be some sort of something that can be used to knock them all out without killing them or getting too close for the police's safety....some sort of gas or something.

Maybe zats could be used?

Some years ago our revered Ignoble Prize winning science commentator Doctor Carl, commented on the breaking of the Moscow theater hostage crisis.  The Russians used gas to end the siege, 150 of  850 hostages were killed by the gas.  Doctor Carl thought the survival rate was as good a result as you could hope for in such circumstances.  People occasionally die from expertly applied and controlled anaesthetics. After watching movies I wonder why we bother with anaesthetists at all, a good bump on the head with a gun butt should do.  Years of med training shouldn't be needed, just a few Bruce Willis movies should do the trick.

[Will]

No, I think that if the use of deadly force is what started this riot, it will only escalate it..

Well put, SilverPhin.

[Tank]

Well I know you can eat what you shoot, but wouldn't it be a pain taking the piece out of an animal you just killed with a shotgun? Granted, I don't know much about guns (unless it's a gun in a video game); however, doesn't the thing being shot have multiple tiny shotgun bullets in the wound?

Yep. Shot is a pain and many a dentist has profited fixing the teeth of people who have bitten down carelessly on a piece of bird shot hidden in a slice of game pie. There is not normally a lot of shot in a bird as if the shooter is close to get a lot of shot in the bird the bird is normally shredded.

[OldGit]

I have been following this only superficially, but do they still have some sort of cause or are they just ganging up to loot and vandalise property? ???

The first riot in London was sparked by a peaceful protest about the police shooting an alleged criminal.  In all the other areas there is no excuse at all; it's just teenage vandalism and plain looting.  A BBC radio reporter was talking to some kids in Manchester last night; they were quite clear: they were doing it solely for the loot and had cynically calculated that there was very little chance of any serious consequences.

[Evilbeagle]

I think the police should be allowed in riot situations to deploy baton rounds (rubber bullets) and CS gas.

[Tank]

I think the police should be allowed in riot situations to deploy baton rounds (rubber bullets) and CS gas.

Apparently both these options are at their disposal, if they want to use them.

[Munchkin Goddess]

I think the police should be allowed in riot situations to deploy baton rounds (rubber bullets) and CS gas.

Apparently both these options are at their disposal, if they want to use them.

Any reason why they haven't yet?

Getting off topic... XD

Sorry for getting off topic...

[Evilbeagle]

The first riot in London was sparked by a peaceful protest about the police shooting an alleged criminal. 

I've read on the Sky News website that the UK Independent Police Complaints Commission have said there is no evidence that Mr Duggan opened fire on police before they shot him dead.

This is worrying as the police's stated reason for shooting the man dead was that he opened fire on them.

[Tank]

I think the police should be allowed in riot situations to deploy baton rounds (rubber bullets) and CS gas.

Apparently both these options are at their disposal, if they want to use them.

Any reason why they haven't yet?

No real idea myself but if I had to guess they will be using minimum force because at the moment the police are the good guys and they don't want to lose that edge. Rubber bullets also have a historical connection to the trouble in Northern Island, to use them on the mainland would be tantamount to admitting there was no alternative and that civil order had broken down. There is also the small possibility of a fatality and as things are calming down a bit I don't think the authorities want to re-escalate the situation.

Oh and some bright spark has found a law from the 1870's that allows the victim of riot damage to sue the police authority for their losses. This is good as it means that those without insurance can get recompense.

[Tank]

The first riot in London was sparked by a peaceful protest about the police shooting an alleged criminal. 

I've read on the Sky News website that the UK Independent Police Complaints Commission have said there is no evidence that Mr Duggan opened fire on police before they shot him dead.

This is worrying as the police's stated reason for shooting the man dead was that he opened fire on them.

Apparently this is the case and that both bullets find at the scene came frompolice weapons. Apparently there was gun there but no evidence it was fired.