From: Rusty�Bullethole, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Observer
Villains use their cars to attack police
Weapon on four wheels takes over from the gun, knife and cosh
Tony Thompson and Laura Milne
Sunday June 18, 2000
Speeding cars have replaced guns, knives and samurai swords as
the greatest threat to the bobby on the beat. In an alarming
development, increasing numbers of criminals are turning their
vehicles into lethal weapons to escape justice.
The last two police officers murdered on duty were both mown down
by vehicles. The trend echoes what is happening in America where,
despite the proliferation of guns on the street, the latest figures
show that law enforcement officers are nearly twice as likely to
die from being struck by vehicles or being involved in car accidents
as they are from gunshot wounds.
Cars are also responsible for the vast majority of other deaths on
duty with more than half of all police fatalities occurring as a
result of accidents and collisions.
Of the last 10 officers to die on duty, two were hit by cars, six
were involved in traffic accidents. By comparison, of the 40 police
officers murdered prior to this, half were shot, stabbed or beaten
to death.
The most recent case of death by car took place last September.
Constable Raja Ahmed, who had returned to motorcycle duty in
Manchester after suffering a broken arm, had been called to a road
accident when he was struck by a stolen vehicle. A man has been
charged with his murder.
In April last year, PC Jeffrey Tooley was mown down while on duty at
a radar speed check. A van failed to stop and, as it evaded the check,
it deliberately struck Tooley. He was dragged for several hundred
yards and died a few hours later from severe head injuries.
An unexpected benefit of the introduction of body armour for all
police officers has been that it offers greater protection in such
situations. The garments, made to absorb the impact of a bullet, also
acts as a cushion in a vehicle collision.
Forty per cent of officers whose lives have been saved by their armour
were involved in incidents involving cars. By comparison, just 29 per
cent of lives saved involved firearms.
Despite this, the number of officers incapacitated as a result of
vehicular assault is also climbing fast. Earlier this month British
Transport policeman Terry Wright was dragged 30 yards with his arm
trapped in a car door as two suspected drug dealers tried to make a
getaway. He had tried to grab the ignition keys, and was only freed
when the car window clamping his arm shattered and he was thrown to
the ground and knocked unconscious.
The incident took place a few days after a young policewoman was
rushed to hospital with minor injuries after her patrol car was
rammed by a stolen vehicle and smashed into a tree as she responded
to a robbery at a supermarket in Bookham, Surrey.
The startling figures make traffic duty by far the most dangerous
division of the police force, above and beyond those working in the
SO10 undercover division and even the elite SO19 firearms squad.
Veteran police safety campaigner Jim McNulty says: 'While police
officers are more likely to be injured if they are assaulted with
knives or guns, they are much more likely to be killed on the roads.
'When a police officer comes into contact with a potential assailant
he can always assess the situation and make a decision to step back,
reducing the risk of injury. But if someone is trying to run you over,
there isn't a lot you can do to protect yourself. The theatre of
danger is greater because of the high speeds.'
---------------------------
It seem likely the paragraph relating to lives saved from body armour
is relating to US statistics, I can't think of a single firearms
incident in the UK where an officer has been saved by body armour -
unless there have been more accidental shootings than admitted.
Rusty
-------[Cybershooters contacts]--------
Editor: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website & subscription info: www.cybershooters.org
