Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/12/29/uk-police-subdue-a-man-who-cha.html
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Well, that was a rapid change in attitude.
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Uh, people – he’s white. If the media has taught me anything in my 39 years, it’s that white folks as a people are inherently less dangerous than armed members of other races. DUH!
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The Youtube comments are as you’d expect:
- a majority of comments coming from Americans expressing the opinion that killing the person on the spot with a gun would be better
- a minority pointing out that this was well handled and that guns aren’t necessary
- a minority suggesting pepper spray or tasering as alternatives
- a minority expressing political opinions about how this government or a previous government created this criminal
I think that this went quite well. He seemed determined to run, not to attack, so talking wasn’t the best tool. He’s wearing a top, so may have other layers underneath - a taser might not have been effective. Pepper spray is an option, but he could harm himself with the knife if reflexively reacts without dropping it. A baton and a tackle did the job pretty well, and nobody got hurt.
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Here in the UK, all our police actually carry concealed Uzis and have a rocket launcher in the boot of their patrol car. But they’re only allowed by law to use them on black people, and everyone knows black people don’t travel internationally - so our secret is safe!
If one black person from America commits a crime here, our reputation for unarmed policing is screwed! 
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Well there’s your first mistake: For goodness’ sake, DO NOT read YouTube comments if you wish to remain sane! I’d sooner roll naked through the hallways of 4chan…
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The cop bashed him on the fingers with a baton, I think. I don’t know if it knocked the knife away but it would be incredibly painful. Instant compliance painful.
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Those batons are nasty painful, and require training to use properly (i.e. without causing too much damage). It’s really quite amazing how easily bones can be broken and organs damaged by even a plastic version.
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Boy, how history might have turned out if someone had cracked King Arthur across the knuckles-- or realistically, the first guy to brandish a sword.
“Divine Rights!”
CRACK
“Okay, okay. You can keep it.”
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The police actually did shoot Mark Duggan, but by all accounts he had worked hard at gang running and drug dealing.
I read a few of them, just out of curiosity. One that stood out to me was someone saying something along the lines of the police shouldn’t have to risk their lives. I hear this a lot. That the police should shoot to kill because their lives shouldn’t be at risk. Yeah, actually, they should be. That’s the job. It’s a dangerous job, and your life is at risk if you choose to do it. It totally sucks when police officers die, and it’s sad, and it should be minimized as much as possible, but it’s an inherent risk to the job. They shouldn’t view their lives as being more valuable or worthy than the lives of the people they are protecting or the people they are trying to apprehend.
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I couldn’t help but hear this in the voice of Graham Chapman!
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When I took baton training, it was emphasized that it was a “less lethal” use of force, not a “nonlethal” one.
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I believe a reasonable amount of spraying was happening here. Note the call the “Spray!” and the inarticulate* female officer is aiming some sort of spray canister at the perpetrator.
* At the start when she repeats the instruction the drop the knife, all that is recognizable is “… knife!”
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I would hate to get in a baton vs. knife fight. Even with superior training, the odds are too close to even for my tastes.
ETA: This is not to say that I think the guy should have been killed. I’m just saying that I will be pleased if I never get into this situation.
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This is an old video. I’ve seen it somewhere before - I’d assumed here but maybe someone just posted it in the comments?
Seems about right for Corby. This is my sister’s patch. Although she’s not in the video. I don’t envy her job.
So’s everyone else in Corby.
According to the 2011 census, Corby had a population of 61,255 and was 85.0% White British, 9.1% Other White (not including White Irish and Irish Traveller), 1.4% mixed race, 1.4% Asian and 1.7% Black. Corby’s least White British ward is Oakley Vale where 70.7% of the population are White British while Corby’s least ethnically diverse ward is Rural West, where 95.6% of the population are White British.
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Actually, with a little training the baton will win every time. Knives are quite hard to use effectively against a trained and aware opponent.
edit: Also, the tag of “apply baton directly to knuckles” is one of the best that I’ve seen in a while.
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I block the code for the YouTube comments. I like to keep my sanity when watching videos on there.
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It also helps that in most cases, the offenders caught in such conflicts do not have much training or expertise with the weapon they are wielding. If the suspect had mad ninja skillz, he would have done the crime and vanished before anyone noticed.
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It’s no Carlisle. Corby looks multicultural in comparison.
Any other depressing statistics to see a really shitty year out?
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