Bet the police wish that all criminals would be so accomodating. The only thing that would make this the perfect trifecta would have been if he showed up at the police station to save the police the trip to pick him up.
Posted by
Bob, Southampton, UK on February 9, 2010:
Is there not also another "stupid" side to this story - why was a clip filled with ammunition left in the car along with another weapon, the tazer? A phrase that springs to mind is stupid is as stupid does.
Use the handcuffs (sorry how many pairs of handcuffs did the police leave in the vehicle) - sorry, use the handcuffs to suspend the police responsible for allowing the items to be in the vehicle.
Posted by
Cory, Topeka on February 9, 2010:
Bob, you would have to suspend virtually every cop in the nation with your policy.
Cars frequently have extra ammo and guns stowed. It isn't uncommon for a car to have extra handcuffs and other arresting gear as well.
Posted by
Lynne, Greshan, OR on February 9, 2010:
I note that Bob is not from America. Perhaps, in UK, officers really don't keep loaded magazines and extra "arresting gear" in their cruisers. Maybe they have to sign such stuff out each time they want to carry it?
I've never exactly stereotyped the Brits as trigger happy folks...
---
My understanding is that firearms-qualified officers in the U.K. keep their guns in their car trunks (er, "boot"). The source story I used doesn't make it clear whether the items stolen were in the interior of the vehicle, or in its trunk. -rc
Posted by
Lenny Hialeah Fl. on February 9, 2010:
Police generally keep weapons in their cars. Why the clip was not in the gun is any body's guess. About a year ago, an unmarked police police car was stolen with guns and ammo. They also got the police computer. When the car was found, everything was still there, including 2 submachine guns. The crook was never caught.
(I also carry a handcuff key. When I left law enforcement, they collected my gear but never asked for my key. I have carried it around for over 30 years. Haven't used it lately.)
Posted by
Joe, California on February 12, 2010:
Perhaps another version of this story had more details, but from the material presented, what gives the Brit -- or anyone -- the right to presume that there were cartridges in the magazine? Granted, officers usually carry, on their persons and in their vehicles, extra magazines fully loaded, but does any version of this story actually SAY the magazine was loaded?
Posted by
Karl, Suffolk, VA on February 13, 2010:
Having grown up in that part of Florida, I realized the cities and county cited don't exactly match up, so I went to the article in the Orlando Sentinel. Although the way Randy portrayed the story is more amusing, the guy supposedly didn't directly taser himself; he set it off and dropped it on the floor of the car, tasering his foot (I have no idea if that is even physically possible). Also, from Randy's summary, I was at least given the impression that the guy handcuffed himself to the unmarked police car. That was apparently done at a friend's place at a later date. So, even though I still agree with the punchline, it isn't quite as bad as it was made out to be. That being said, the original article wasn't very clear about the facts either.
---
I don't know how you got the impression that he handcuffed himself to the car. If that was the case, I definitely would have said so explicitly. My version of the story didn't say the town involved was in the county involved: this happened over time, and thus happened in both places. Last, the man shocked himself in the foot with a Taser. I think most people would call that "Tasering himself." -rc
Posted by
Cory, Topeka, Kansas on February 13, 2010:
It is interesting to observe some of the assumptions made by the various people reading things on this site that aren't supported by the article.
Posted by
Mallie, Denver on April 29, 2010:
"It's a good thing he didn't manage to steal a gun: he's just the sort to look down the barrel to watch the bullet come out."
And this would be a tragedy why??
---
I don't see the word "tragedy" in the quoted sentence. -rc
Shockingly Stupid - Comments
Posted by Dave, Illinois on February 8, 2010:
Bet the police wish that all criminals would be so accomodating. The only thing that would make this the perfect trifecta would have been if he showed up at the police station to save the police the trip to pick him up.
Posted by Bob, Southampton, UK on February 9, 2010:
Is there not also another "stupid" side to this story - why was a clip filled with ammunition left in the car along with another weapon, the tazer? A phrase that springs to mind is stupid is as stupid does.
Use the handcuffs (sorry how many pairs of handcuffs did the police leave in the vehicle) - sorry, use the handcuffs to suspend the police responsible for allowing the items to be in the vehicle.
Posted by Cory, Topeka on February 9, 2010:
Bob, you would have to suspend virtually every cop in the nation with your policy.
Cars frequently have extra ammo and guns stowed. It isn't uncommon for a car to have extra handcuffs and other arresting gear as well.
Posted by Lynne, Greshan, OR on February 9, 2010:
I note that Bob is not from America. Perhaps, in UK, officers really don't keep loaded magazines and extra "arresting gear" in their cruisers. Maybe they have to sign such stuff out each time they want to carry it?
I've never exactly stereotyped the Brits as trigger happy folks...
---
My understanding is that firearms-qualified officers in the U.K. keep their guns in their car trunks (er, "boot"). The source story I used doesn't make it clear whether the items stolen were in the interior of the vehicle, or in its trunk. -rc
Posted by Lenny Hialeah Fl. on February 9, 2010:
Police generally keep weapons in their cars. Why the clip was not in the gun is any body's guess. About a year ago, an unmarked police police car was stolen with guns and ammo. They also got the police computer. When the car was found, everything was still there, including 2 submachine guns. The crook was never caught.
(I also carry a handcuff key. When I left law enforcement, they collected my gear but never asked for my key. I have carried it around for over 30 years. Haven't used it lately.)
Posted by Joe, California on February 12, 2010:
Perhaps another version of this story had more details, but from the material presented, what gives the Brit -- or anyone -- the right to presume that there were cartridges in the magazine? Granted, officers usually carry, on their persons and in their vehicles, extra magazines fully loaded, but does any version of this story actually SAY the magazine was loaded?
Posted by Karl, Suffolk, VA on February 13, 2010:
Having grown up in that part of Florida, I realized the cities and county cited don't exactly match up, so I went to the article in the Orlando Sentinel. Although the way Randy portrayed the story is more amusing, the guy supposedly didn't directly taser himself; he set it off and dropped it on the floor of the car, tasering his foot (I have no idea if that is even physically possible). Also, from Randy's summary, I was at least given the impression that the guy handcuffed himself to the unmarked police car. That was apparently done at a friend's place at a later date. So, even though I still agree with the punchline, it isn't quite as bad as it was made out to be. That being said, the original article wasn't very clear about the facts either.
---
I don't know how you got the impression that he handcuffed himself to the car. If that was the case, I definitely would have said so explicitly. My version of the story didn't say the town involved was in the county involved: this happened over time, and thus happened in both places. Last, the man shocked himself in the foot with a Taser. I think most people would call that "Tasering himself." -rc
Posted by Cory, Topeka, Kansas on February 13, 2010:
It is interesting to observe some of the assumptions made by the various people reading things on this site that aren't supported by the article.
Posted by Mallie, Denver on April 29, 2010:
"It's a good thing he didn't manage to steal a gun: he's just the sort to look down the barrel to watch the bullet come out."
And this would be a tragedy why??
---
I don't see the word "tragedy" in the quoted sentence. -rc
Read the article that everyone's commenting on, or post a comment about it.