I've been checking out these two links, origins and the place I got that link from here, they make interesting reading, though I haven't waded through all of it yet.......
Of course what spurred me on to look was the ongoing news coverage of the moat shooting, and the fact that it is to now be investigated by the IPPC and the fact they are seeming to make such a fuss in the press about the type of tazer used............ apparently it did not have Home Office approval. Excuse me but didn't moat use a sawn off shot gun ?
Looking at my Local news I see they refuse to do that.Barry and District News,
Meanwhile I see that victims of moat are to be represented by Max Clifford Hmm not sure about that at all.
4 comments:
Hi Goldy.
Facebook is an American site so not under the jurisdiction of the UK. However, the page has now been removed. It beggars belief that anyone could regard Raoul Moat as a hero.
Having said that, I think it is absolutely right that the issues raised in this case be investigated including the use of unapproved taser guns.
While I have no sympathy for Raoul Moat, I do think it is a concern that we hear today that, in the past year or so, he made repeated pleas for help as he himself was concerned about his mental state. Perhaps if he had got the help he sought, one man would not have lost his life and two people would not now be seriously injured.
As for the taser gun issue. In this case it may well have made no difference to the outcome, Moat would probably have shot himself anyway but, what other situations would we think it was okay for the police to use unauthorised weapons?
I think it is also right that the question is raised as to why Raoul Moat was not apprehended sooner. Contrary to initial reports he was not hiding in a drain but camping in a field and wandering around Rothbury. There was in the region of 700 sightings of him. Thankfully he did not claim any other victims during that time.
I have to point out the irony of the political correctness thingy. Facebook initially refused to pull the page on the grounds that people should be allowed to express their views regardless of how offensive those views may be to others. The tribute has now been removed but, has not Facebook conceded to pressure based on the same principals as political correctness?
Welcome back to Blogland :-)
Hi Chinwagger I do realise that Facebook is an American site,but at the risk of being thought of as too PC :0) I do think that all social network sites should have to meet certain criteria when operating within the UK, probably they already do, but if that is the case then the standards are not strict enough to my mind. I know this flies in the face of free speech, and if such networks were not available to the youth of today,I wouldn't worry at all about some of the content to be found on them. But sadly that is not the case, and young people do manage to gain access to such sites, at an age when they are easily influenced by such comment as appeared in that tribute page, and it has a bad influence on some of these children. One could argue that parents should exercise more parental control over their children, sadly in very many cases today this does not happen.........
As to moat if prison doctors knew he was that sick mentally then why was he released at all before he had the help he needed while still in prison? Why did he not turn up to the appointment that was made for him after his plea for help? As to the use of the tazer, I suppose that's a matter of opinion depending on where you were at the time he was pointing his shotgun, directly in front of him or by the bedside of one of his victims or sat safely at home watching this awful incident unfold... Apparently Northumbria Police were the force running the pilot scheme for such tazers.
Maybe they made a mistake by issuing that particular tazer for use in that incident. Its easy to criticise after the event, especially when we were not the ones who had to try to find this man and apprehend him. No doubt mistakes were made by the police, but not all the blame lays at their feet..The vast majority of it should lay at the feet of the system that allowed this very paranoid very clever man out into society again.
As to the irony of Facebooks capitulation to pressure being based on the same principles as PC......Point taken ! ;00
Hi Goldy :-)
Facebook is probably very happy with the publicity.
As the information concerning the taser guns was made public in the media, it would seem wise for this question to be addressed as if it were not, it would only add to the idea that Moat was a victim unlawfully shot by police marksmen.
Moat himself was primarily responsible; he made the decision to shoot three people and then spend 6 hours or more with a shotgun pointed at his head but, that does not mean that questions should not be asked, not just to see whether mistakes were made but also to determine whether lessons can be learnt because, the chilling likelihood is that there are more Raoul Moats and who is to say that this won't happen again?
Contrary to initial reports, it now appears that Facebook did not concede but that the page was taken down by the creator; 21 year old Shivoun O'Dowd who is apparently an unemployed mum. You really couldn't make that one up could you!
I think we actually agree on more than we disagree on but, nevertheless, a very interesting post :-)
Hi Chinny [chinwagger is such a long moniker];0)
I do agree with what you say about media coverage and the need for a investigation, however my point was that the Police are taking all the flack for any mistakes made............as you said questions do need to be raised.
and one of them is why his sentence was so slack for the original offence,Just a few weeks for assaulting his Daughter, if it had been longer then he would have surely been assessed by the probation service before his release..........
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