Saturday 28 May 2011

Endearing Themselves To The Public Again...

A young woman told yesterday how she risked her life to stop a street robbery – while two police officers sat in their patrol car a few yards away.

Marie Wastlund, 27, was walking home from a night out when she saw three hooded thugs throttling and kicking a woman in view of the police vehicle.

The student waved and shouted to get the attention of the officers – parked only 25 yards away – but they did nothing.
I can't wait to see the excuses offered for this....
So she waded in herself and pulled the thugs away from their victim by their hoods – at which point they fled. Astonishingly, she then had to dial 999 to summon police help and sat cradling the distraught victim in her arms for ten minutes.

At one point the two officers got out of their car but, apparently not noticing what was going on, they got back in again.
Well, Marie, here's what you do next time this happens - tell them they're about to be clamped:
The officers were sitting in their unmarked cars in private residents’ spaces at the Gunwharf Quays marina retail complex.
And so they were clamped. And why not? Aren't they subject to the same laws as everyone else?

They didn't think so. They arrested the clamper.
A Hampshire police spokesman said: ‘Mr Andrews clamped two unmarked police vehicles preventing the officers, who were at Gunwharf as part of a security operation, from conducting their duties. The officers had not left the vehicles at the time they were clamped.
The boss of the clamping firm disputes this:
Andrews, who works for Shoal Enforcement, will appear at South and South East Hampshire Magistrates’ Court in Portsmouth next Friday.
Mike Eames, managing director of the parking enforcement company, denied the officers were in the cars when they were clamped.
‘A member of our staff immobilised two cars parked in private residents’ bays,’ he said. ‘A plainclothes police officer produced his warrant card and requested that both vehicles be released.
‘Our member of staff confirmed he would release the vehicles if the officer would provide confirmation that he was on duty. The officer declined and arrested our member of staff.
‘At no time did the police officer identify himself as a royal protection officer or make any mention of the Queen’s visit.
‘There were no officers in the vehicles during the incident and our member of staff was correctly displaying his licence.’
I think this'll be the only time the public are likely to be cheering on a clamping firm in a court case!

15 comments:

Zaphod said...

Beautiful, Julia! I don't even know which team I'm rooting for here!

English Viking said...

How come they're right handy when it comes to killing old drunks or shooting electricians in the face, but they can't deal with a few hoodies that are seen of by a single brave woman?

Absolute muppets that deserve all the contempt they get.

Believe me, I've got quite a lot.

Bertie Bassett said...

In each case, the police senior management team and the officers concerned will be relying on yesterday's news being tomorrow's fish and chip paper.

Gordo said...

Any description of the attackers?

AntiCitizenOne said...

Congratulation to the Peel aligned woman vigilante.

FOAD to the leech-police.

blueknight said...

10 years of Nulabor micromanaging the Police telling them what to do and how to do it was always going to end up with a Police 'Force' that cannot think outside the box or deal with anything that does not fall into a recognisable Home Office category, such as being a racist pub singer.
The clamping case will interesting, if only to draw attention to the fact that it still goes on.

Ranter said...

If true it is very sad and I agree with Blue Knight 'The Job' is well and truly cattle-trucked!

JuliaM said...

"I don't even know which team I'm rooting for here!"

I'm going to have to make 'Can't they both lose?' into a tag!

"...a Police 'Force' that cannot think outside the box or deal with anything that does not fall into a recognisable Home Office category..."

Over at Gadget's, they are busy disputing the 'Mail's' slant, and suggesting it isn't the whole story. Well, maybe. It wouldn't be the first time.

The point is, many, many people will believe it, and it will reinforce their own personal bad experiences with the police.

"If true it is very sad and I agree with Blue Knight 'The Job' is well and truly cattle-trucked!"

Even if it isn't, for reasons outlined above!

MTG said...

A vintage plod thread best enjoyed with popcorn.

Predictably precipitating plod comment blaming others for the state of their service, provides a bonus snigger.

PJH said...

"...but they did nothing"

Wasn't Humberside police was it?

""First [the policeman] asked if I had reported it to the police, then asked if I had rang the police.
"He was the police, was I not reporting it there and then? Why do I need to ring the police to tell them when I told a police officer."
"

Anonymous said...

I cannot imagine a scenario whereby two PCs would sit and watch a robbery take place and do nothing.They would know they would get into trouble and secondly arresting a robber would make my day.Let's see how this story pans out before you all rush to judgement,it is the Daily Mail after all.
Nice to see MTG is out on day-release to comment again on an anti-police story
Jaded.

Mick Turatian said...

Gordo:"Any description of the attackers"

Yes indeed (hooray) there is - were you thinking that MONA had struck again? Yup, the attackers were white.

Phew!

MTG said...

@ one very Jaded WPC.

Any pro police story is awaited with consummate patience. Notwithstanding a mediocre plod ability, it is your duty to enlighten the public with positive accounts. Forego that public school reflex and contain the immediate temptation to utter the first false and besmirching comment which arrives at the front of a simple mind.

Your repertoire of excuses also befits a major public school education, Jaded. Yet I am sad to observe that none of the grace and class which would corroborate such an experience, are evident.

Anonymous said...

What are you on about? Try upping the dosage Melvin.
The Daily Mail do not print pro-police stories,it's an agenda they have which surprises me for a right-wing paper.All it does is encourage people like you to comment from positions of ignorance.
The reason this story is very strange is that if you were a robber,would you do it within sight of a police car? Or did the robbers know these were lazy unobservant officers?
PCSO Jaded.

Anonymous said...

I've had a lovely weekend policing our town. Turned into a 14 hour shift for me on one of them. First one locked up wet himself in our patrol car. No doubt you will cheer that victory for the oppressed public....has cost the taxpayer in having to have it cleaned though.
Next one locked up had cut himself badly and was violent so had to be restrained. Blood all over me, a few hours at the hospital with him verbally abusing officers and NHS staff.

Funny how one story, uncorroborated is redily believed as long as it is anti-police. That womans rant reminds me of one i received as a complaint. Once i had the opportunity to sit down and explain things i got a letter from them the next month saying how brilliant i was...lol.

Perception is everything. A lot of this is based around what this woman 'feels' the police should have seen. I hope she isn't a football fan, she would be on at the referee all the time over what she feels he should have seen.