Suicide by Cop!

Well there has been little to get ones teeth into in the news lately but one thing I feel I have to post about is the shooting of barrister Mark Saunders...

A while back I posted on Raoul Moat and was not very polite or supportive of police methods, a little later I was over at Insp Gadget's place commenting on something or other and some of the commenter's (I assume police personnel) were complaining that we blogger's always rip them a new arsehole whenever they fuck up!

Very true!, we do have a go at them on a fairly regular basis (but they do also lay themselves wide open for it ) they (the commenter's) said that we never said anything positive about them...well this time, this time I am going to congratulate them for their actions...read on...

Mark Saunders, for whatever reason, was not a happy bunny!...and holed himself up in his expensive flatlet in Chelsea, from where he was taking potshots with a shotgun at his neighbours properties. Why a supposedly highly educated (Oxford) barrister should be doing such a thing we may never know, he was drunk is about the only excuse I have heard so far...

The police tried to negotiate with him for 5 hours before he again appeared at the kitchen window with his shotgun...I was surprised he was not shot immediately...but he in fact was allowed to sway around for a minute or so before he lowered the gun...and raised it again...still not shot, I was amazed...and then lowered again this time a bit too far ...upon which he was taken out in a small hail of bullets from police marksmen.

Whether they had been ordered to fire over their radios or had determined to fire independently, it is my belief that it was entirely the right thing to have done...

The man was clearly dangerously reckless of anyone else's safety, whether he wished to die (commit suicide) or not, he was a fool with a gun and fools with guns should not be given the chance to harm others.

A great deal was made of the Moat shooting/tasering, and there seems to be little difference between the two incidents. Both involved standoffs with men with guns, the reason why the Moat killing was unacceptable was his gun pointed only at himself, whilst Saunders pointed his at the world in general.

Well done to the police concerned in this case, you showed the restraint that I called for previously and did a hard job in difficult circumstances, and from what I know of this case I for one can/will not fault you!