Tuesday 26 July 2011

What The Hell Is It With Off-Duty Coppers?

An off-duty policeman who pulled a man out of a car by his neck has been given a community order by magistrates.
Blimey, there’s a lot of this going around!

Unlike that case, though, this report is devoid of details of just why he felt the need to do this…
PC Ian Collis, who works in Lewisham, was arrested following the attack in Crofton Road, Locksbottom, on November 16.

The 45-year-old, of State Farm Avenue, Farnborough, was visibly shaken and upset as he stood in the dock at Bromley Magistrates’ Court today (July 21).
The inevitable mitigation gives no clues either:
In mitigation, lawyer Alistair Williamson told the court how his client had been injured whilst in the course of duty and was suffering psychological issues after the death of his father, for which he had refused counselling.
If you are thinking ‘He doesn’t sound like someone who should be pounding a beat!’, well, he won’t be for much longer:
The court was told that Collis has suffered a “fall from grace” and was “going to lose everything”, with an upcoming disciplinary hearing expected to cost him his job.
Maybe if that gets reported we might find out why he decided to pull a man out of a car by his neck…

23 comments:

AndrewWS said...

"Maybe if that gets reported we might find out why he decided to pull a man out of a car by his neck… "

Perhaps he was going to charge him with having thick lips and frizzy hair ...

Jim said...

That's an easy question to answer. They think that they can act with the same disregard for the law when off duty as when on duty.

Occasionally one goes too far, as this case. Most of the time it goes unreported, as who wants to antagonise one of our wonderful policemen?

Anonymous said...

Unlike many recent cases, though, this report is devoid of details of just why he felt the need to do this…

Passenger: I think Mongo here's taken a liking to you.
PC Mongo: Uh-uh, naw, Mongo straight.

Mike said...

'pulled him out of a car by his neck' his neck you say?!? hand, hair, foot or any limb but neck. either he was trying to strangle him and changed his mind or was trying to make a job more difficult than it needed to be.

MTG said...

OK, WPC Jaded.
Ready for your close-up and the old 'possible suicide bomber reaching for a detonator' defence?

English Viking said...

Sack him, scrap his pension.

Michael Fowke said...

If I were a police officer, I would want to be as civilized as possible - so the general public would hold the service/force in high esteem.

Mike said...

@MTG 'possible suicide bomber reaching for a detonator'? many tried and tested ways to deal with that but waggling one by its neck is not INMO successfully tried or tested, probably not recommended or effective unless of course you want the bomb to go off ;)

What is it with the general public thinking that coppers are oh so brave and dependable, the majority are thugs that have thankfully found a profession where they can be put in close contact with other thugs that just happen not to be coppers. Trying to ask a thug to be a social service rep or a nurse or a councillor or anything other than a thug with brush to wipe car stealing chavs off the road with is profoundly stupid and relatively pointless and then telling the scrot’s mum that her benefit claim should reflect her sad loss.

Mike said...

their not even good thugs! lol

Mike said...

its what happens when you get an organisation to afraid to sack employees for not doing the job their employed to do and keeping them on after they continue to serve any usefulness, oh and promoting in respect of time served rather than ability...........all make perfect sence to me if you want a bunch of old lazy farts who were thugs in their youth and think charging grumpy students with mounted police is funny. not a lot wrong with bieng old unless you didn't get the experience that came with it or did get it and refuse to put it to use.

MTG said...

@ Mike

The thug will always vociferously deny a well earned reputation.

I love the story of the cowardly primary school bully. You know, the one who took far more pains selecting the vulnerable than justifying his attacks.

One day, victims organised themselves into teaching him a lesson and the later sight of him bawling in the Headmaster's leather armchair, proved to be well worth the cane. Bullyboy eventually found his career niche in a particular uniform.

Uniformed bullyboy has often been 'out of control' or simply confident that like-minded colleagues called to the scene of his aggression, would paint a picture sufficiently different for bullyboy purposes.

For some reason, it all went wrong on this occasion and bullyboy ended up receiving the cane himself :)

Robert Edwards said...

Some time ago I wrote a biography of a well-known boxer. In the interests of research, I called the Met. Police Archive, in order to find out if his Grandfather had ever been arrested for illegal bare-knuckle fighting. Well, he hadn't, but the charming lady seemed disposed to chat. So I asked:

"Do you ever see the same family on both sides of the charge sheet?"

"Oh, yes, every other generation or so - they keep popping up..."

So, the question must be: Are the police recruited or drawn, or selected:

Always/generally/occasionally, from the criminal class?

Answers on a postcard, please, to: D. C. Inspector Xavier O'Kray,
New Scotland Yard,
London, SW1.

Anonymous said...

I once listened to a very high ranking police officer tell me how to smash up somebodies windows and get away with it. She recommended the use of a hire car. Among other things.

So yeah, I believe it, the police are usually thugs in uniform.

JuliaM said...

"That's an easy question to answer. They think that they can act with the same disregard for the law when off duty as when on duty."

Well, this one got a bit of a shock, then!

"If I were a police officer, I would want to be as civilized as possible - so the general public would hold the service/force in high esteem."

Hopefully the majority still are.

"What is it with the general public thinking that coppers are oh so brave and dependable, the majority are thugs..."

I really don't think it is the majority; I just wish the majority would realise how the minority make them look, and take steps themselves to nip it in the bud.

Rather than helping to cover it up out of some sense of misplaced loyalty.

Mike said...

come on Julia, rank and file copper, both male and female are one small step away from the type of thug we used to see in an unregulated bouncer industry. Its institutionalised, rewarded and ugly thugery.

Mike said...

ham fist as opposed to strong arm, of the law

Mike said...

my or public respect for these public servants, I think ye not!

Mike said...

there are some beutiful and not even particularly colourful names around the world for this type of individual, jar head, meat head, lump and yours, waste of skin ;)

Mike said...

FFS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14234281

guns don't kill people, people kill people remember

MTG said...

"I really don't think it is the majority..."

Should that assessment prove accurate, 49% still make a minority and how long does it take 70,000 bad apples to turn the rest?

"I just wish the majority would realise how the minority make them look..."

I have serious doubts that you believe they care...but do take another random sample from Gaddget rabble comments, to be sure. If you feel the pressure of a precariously balanced comment allowance on Gadget, it will be to your shame if you accommodate 'spin' for a lazy, corrupt and ineffective public service.

"...and take steps themselves to nip it in the bud."

And wich way would it be nipped in the bud?

Please enlighten the citizen experiencing a growing difficulty distinguishing criminal from police.

MTG said...

The other option is to adopt the Ostrich principle of banning any commenter from your blog, who failed to patronize your views or disagreed with you on any issue.

Highly popular at the moment amongst UK police bloggers.

Mike said...

to be fair it is Julia's blog and as with others whoever the owner is has the moral right to ban whom ever they choose to. Having said that banning someone from one's blog is usualy a sign of either defeat or ignorance or both.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear I seem to have stumbled on a police "love in" blog.
Julia-"there's a lot of this going around? Not really.There was a case last week where an off duty officer got seriously hurt getting involved. This post deals with someone who has been convicted in court so without knowing any details I have to respect the decision of the court.I'm sure there are lots of incidents that don't get reported.
As I have written before I don't profess to speak for anyone but myself.I do a good job.I'm not corrupt,racist or a thug.Unless you have have met every PC then please don't generalise.
Jaded.
PS MTG made two spelling errors in his post.He often uses his superior intellect to chastise lesser beings like me so it's nice to see he is human after all.