UK police should be armed

[Gob]

and should have shot this fucker out of the tree

A burglar who caused chaos for commuters after a 17-hour police standoff in a Charlton tree overhanging a railway line has been jailed for 18 months.



Charlton Andre, 33, of Florence Road, New Cross, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to burglary, handling stolen goods, driving whilst disqualified and obstructing an engine or carriage using the railway by an unlawful act.

On August 13 Andre drove a stolen motorbike to the Stone Lane Retail Park, Woolwich Road, where he set off an alarm committing a burglary.

The roofer climbed a 30 feet tree causing hours of disruptions to the line which led to the delay or cancellation of 783 trains at a cost of half a million pounds, the court was told In an interview he told police he planned to jump onto a train to escape.

Officer in the case Detective Constable Carly Walker, Greenwich CID said: “Andre caused an enormous amount of disruption and misery for many passengers when he decided to stay in the tree in the vain hope that police would give up and let him escape.”

[Long Run]

Be more just than cutting the tree down; it was just an innocent victim being held hostage.

[rubato]

A Taser would probably do it.

yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

The roofer climbed a 30 feet tree causing hours of disruptions to the line which led to the delay or cancellation of 783 trains at a cost of half a million pounds, the court was told In an interview he told police he planned to jump onto a train to escape.

They should have just kept the trains running and let nature take its course...

[Joe Guy]

If he had been in a city like Oakland, California, he would have been shot for at least two reasons; being black in public and impersonating a leaf.

[BoSoxGal]

While I understand the cost incurred to halt the trains and the inconvenience to passengers sucks - it would have been entirely unjustified to shoot at an unarmed man in such a situation.

So if UK cops are as stupid as some of ours, it's a good thing they don't have guns. The cost to the taxpayers when sued by his family for wrongful death would be far higher than the cost incurred stopping the trains.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Shorely shome mishtake? "...armed with chainsaws"?

[Lord Jim]

It seems to me there are a number of ways they could have brought him down...

A high powered hose would probably have done the trick; they also could have shot a tear gas canister off right below him...

[oldr_n_wsr]

It took 17 hours to get him down?
Tranquilizer dart comes to mind.