Friday 11 February 2011

How Can You Use 'Excessive Force'...

...when you are outnumbered three-to-one?
Sami Lahmadi was working for Dick De Vigne’s in Warrior Square, Southend, when he was threatened by three angry clubbers who had been thrown out of the venue.

Mr Lahmadi, 43, from Southend, stood up to the men and chased them off with a metal pole when he caught sight of a knife.
Hurrah for Mr Lah...

Oh:
But Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers decided he had used excessive force, throwing Mr Lahmadi into a year-long battle to overturn the charges.

Mr Lahmadi has now won his appeal in court.

The CPS declined to comment on Mr Lahmadi’s case.
*sigh*

Thank god poor Bishnu Shrestha doesn't have the misfortune to live in Southend. Our cretinous CPS would probably clamour to reinstate the death penalty for him...

9 comments:

Disenfranchised of Buckingham said...

Can't defend yourself. What would the world come to?

The cops wouldn't have anything NOT to do while they drink their tea and fill in forms.

Katabasis said...

This is just so painfully familiar.

>:-/

Dr Evil said...

One of three thugs pulls a knife and the lone guy fights them off with a metal pole. Of course this wasn't excessive. It wouldn't have been excessive if he had killed one of them. the CPS is out of control and out of touch. But our stupid laws need a damn good overhaul too.

Katabasis said...

@Chalcedon, I wouldn't even have claimed killing one of them would have been necessarily excessive. He could have had every reason to be in fear for his life.

Katabasis said...

Oops - just noticed you said "wouldn't". Sorry!

Rob said...

Whoever was in charge of this case should be fired

Captain Haddock said...

"Whoever was in charge of this case should be fired" ..

Yes, preferrably from the mouth of a very large gun ..

wv = "fistiou" .. well, if you really insist ..

blueknight said...

According to the law as it it stands, the fact that he chased them puts him on dodgy ground.
BUT, as most Police Officers would acknowledge, (the ones that have been in similar hostile situations), 'defence' is an instinctive reaction and a lot of allowance should be made for the effects of fear, anger and adrenaline.
There was a similar case involving an Indian(?) family that were being robbed and a son/cousin? gave the attacker a good hiding. I can't remember all the details so I can't google it....

JuliaM said...

"Can't defend yourself. What would the world come to?"

I think we can see that all around us, can't we?

"This is just so painfully familiar."

Yup, I hear the police are about as welcome as toothache and about as useless at most nightclub calls...

"the CPS is out of control and out of touch. But our stupid laws need a damn good overhaul too."

They do indeed.

"According to the law as it it stands, the fact that he chased them puts him on dodgy ground."

And yet - in a case that concluded yesterday, and I'll be blogging today - pursuing your fleeing victim into a bathroom and stabbing him repeatedly isn't enough to convict you of murder.

Go figure, as they say across the water! :)

"There was a similar case involving an Indian(?) family that were being robbed and a son/cousin? gave the attacker a good hiding."

Yeah, quite recently. I remember it. Unfortunately, Google returns far too many hits to sort it out!