Things That Gladden The Heart

[AmandaJR]

I thought it was a froggy

 

[Bazz]

Saved £26 per month on the Virgin TV package.

 

[Slime]

My little old car!
A 13yr old Kia Cee'd, 109,000 miles, re-mapped from 89bhp to 136bhp that's just taken me to Wales for a few days and brought me home safely. I fuelled up just before I left.
I did 411 miles and achieved 68.2 mpg.
Check out how much fuel I still have and how far I can go before refuelling!

What a little beauty!!

 

[Pathetic Shark]

The police firearms officer being found not guilty of the Streatham shooting. What choice did he really have? By all accounts, the guy involved was a real piece of Any death is tragic and horrible for the family but he brought on himself with his lifestyle choice and actions that night. But of course his family and friends are making him out to be a saint, family man and pillar of local society. How long until the phrase "lovable rogue" gets used?

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Will be interesting to hear @Billysboots thoughts on the incident - can’t recall too much talk about it when it happened , body cam footage doesn’t show too much and there was no weapons around so did the policeman think the car and the way he was driving was going to cause harm ?

 

[AmandaJR]

Will be interesting to hear @Billysboots thoughts on the incident - can’t recall too much talk about it when it happened , body cam footage doesn’t show too much and there was no weapons around so did the policeman think the car and the way he was driving was going to cause harm ?

Yes the officer said he feared for his colleagues lives and the car was being used as a weapon. So he may have not held a gun but for me he was armed and dangerous.

 

[Billysboots]

Will be interesting to hear @Billysboots thoughts on the incident - can’t recall too much talk about it when it happened , body cam footage doesn’t show too much and there was no weapons around so did the policeman think the car and the way he was driving was going to cause harm ?

My thoughts?

Astonishingly glad I never carried a firearm. It’s the most thankless role in the cops, and this is the reason. All firearms officers know that, in the event they pull the trigger, there is a real likelihood that the fiercely non-independent IOPC will go after them with gusto, so intent are they to see officers prosecuted.

The closest parallel I can draw in order to illustrate my point was a fatal collision I investigated many years ago, which was loosely connected to an aborted police pursuit.

At the very first meeting I had with the IOPC investigators, I was told they wanted the officers involved prosecuted for manslaughter. This conversation took place, I hasten to add, before they were aware of any of the wealth of evidence available, which ultimately showed that the deceased had acted deliberately in driving head-on into an oncoming goods vehicle.

I’d never had direct contact with the IOPC (it was then the IPCC) prior to that, but had heard the rumours regarding how biased they were against police officers. That one meeting absolutely took my breath away.

I can only comment on what we have all seen in the press and on TV in relation to this incident. But the fact the jury took a mere three hours to reach a not guilty verdict tells you everything you need to know.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

My thoughts?

Astonishingly glad I never carried a firearm. It’s the most thankless role in the cops, and this is the reason. All firearms officers know that, in the event they pull the trigger, there is a real likelihood that the fiercely non-independent IOPC will go after them with gusto, so intent are they to see officers prosecuted.

The closest parallel I can draw in order to illustrate my point was a fatal collision I investigated many years ago, which was loosely connected to an aborted police pursuit.

At the very first meeting I had with the IOPC investigators, I was told they wanted the officers involved prosecuted for manslaughter. This conversation took place, I hasten to add, before they were aware of any of the wealth of evidence available, which ultimately showed that the deceased had acted deliberately in driving head-on into an oncoming goods vehicle.

I’d never had direct contact with the IOPC (it was then the IPCC) prior to that, but had heard the rumours regarding how biased they were against police officers. That one meeting absolutely took my breath away.

I can only comment on what we have all seen in the press and on TV in relation to this incident. But the fact the jury took a mere three hours to reach a not guilty verdict tells you everything you need to know.

With it being such a rare occurrence in the UK it’s got to be mentally tough on the ones carrying

Saw enough of the stress and mental anguish many suffered during the Afghan and Iraq wars to see that it must be hell to have been the one to pull the trigger in the UK

What I don’t understand is why they charged him with murder , thought it had to be premeditated and how did the CPS get it that far


The reaction now isn’t going to be great

 

[Billysboots]

With it being such a rare occurrence in the UK it’s got to be mentally tough on the ones carrying

Saw enough of the stress and mental anguish many suffered during the Afghan and Iraq wars to see that it must be hell to have been the one to pull the trigger in the UK

What I don’t understand is why they charged him with murder , thought it had to be premeditated and how did the CPS get it that far


The reaction now isn’t going to be great

I do wonder if the CPS sometimes feel an obligation to charge in these circumstances because they fear the backlash if they don’t.

Charging decisions are a really fine balancing act at times, and those making the decisions don’t always get them right, but they SHOULD still follow decision making protocols.

But sometimes I feel as though a lower threshold has been applied so that the CPS can say “we’ve done our bit - it’s in the jury’s hands now.”

That said, and to counter that argument, the judiciary are never backwards at coming forwards and saying the it was a frivolous decision to bring a prosecution if they feel the evidence does not warrant it.

Bottom line, this decision will not have been taken lightly, and will have been subject to scrutiny at every stage of the process. So, in fairness, the threshold has most probably been met. If that’s not the case, it’s ultimately for the judiciary to say so.

 

[Pathetic Shark]

Just watched details on the news. The family are screaming for "justice". No you've had that - a case heard in a court of law where all the evidence was presented and a not guilty verdict was reached very quickly. What you want is not justice, it is a verdict that suits you. And of course here come the promises of appeals and civil cases. Perhaps you should have been more aware of what your son was up to in his life when you had the chance to maybe do something about it.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

I do wonder if the CPS sometimes feel an obligation to charge in these circumstances because they fear the backlash if they don’t.

Charging decisions are a really fine balancing act at times, and those making the decisions don’t always get them right, but they SHOULD still follow decision making protocols.

But sometimes I feel as though a lower threshold has been applied so that the CPS can say “we’ve done our bit - it’s in the jury’s hands now.”

That said, and to counter that argument, the judiciary are never backwards at coming forwards and saying the it was a frivolous decision to bring a prosecution if they feel the evidence does not warrant it.

Bottom line, this decision will not have been taken lightly, and will have been subject to scrutiny at every stage of the process. So, in fairness, the threshold has most probably been met. If that’s not the case, it’s ultimately for the judiciary to say so.

I suspect what’s happened now is going to cause a lot more issues - don’t think this the end of it all

 

[Billysboots]

I suspect what’s happened now is going to cause a lot more issues - don’t think this the end of it all

Totally agree. It will rumble on a while longer, I don’t doubt.

I’ll wager the MPS are preparing for a busy few days for starters.

 

[Sid Rixon IV]

My little old car!
A 13yr old Kia Cee'd, 109,000 miles, re-mapped from 89bhp to 136bhp that's just taken me to Wales for a few days and brought me home safely. I fuelled up just before I left.
I did 411 miles and achieved 68.2 mpg.
Check out how much fuel I still have and how far I can go before refuelling!

What a little beauty!!

I set off for Cardigan Bay recently. Reset the trip and had 350 miles in the tank. On return, approx 250m later, I'd averaged 56mpg and the trip plus remaing fuel hugely exceeded 350.
Then I'm back to short, local trips each day and it plummets.
On just daily short trips that 350 would come in around 310/320.

 

[AmandaJR]

The police firearms officer being found not guilty of the Streatham shooting. What choice did he really have? By all accounts, the guy involved was a real piece of Any death is tragic and horrible for the family but he brought on himself with his lifestyle choice and actions that night. But of course his family and friends are making him out to be a saint, family man and pillar of local society. How long until the phrase "lovable rogue" gets used?

News today about Kaba being a member of one of the most dangerous gangs in London. Yet still his family wail about what a loss he is and how terrible the police are.

Plus...

It can now be reported that he shot a man in both legs at the Oval Space nightclub in Hackney, east London, on 30 August 2022.

Despite that the officer was still prosecuted. What a joke.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

News today about Kaba being a member of one of the most dangerous gangs in London. Yet still his family wail about what a loss he is and how terrible the police are.

Plus...

It can now be reported that he shot a man in both legs at the Oval Space nightclub in Hackney, east London, on 30 August 2022.

Despite that the officer was still prosecuted. What a joke.

Definitely - https://news.sky.com/story/chris-ka...-days-before-he-was-killed-by-police-13234555

It seems from a total outsider he complied with the requirements to discharge the firearm at the head https://news.sky.com/story/why-did-...hat-are-the-laws-on-police-shootings-13238608

 

[Tashyboy]

Just watching War Horse whilst in Canterbury. It’s half time interval. Bloody hell it’s powerful stuff.

 

[Tashyboy]

News today about Kaba being a member of one of the most dangerous gangs in London. Yet still his family wail about what a loss he is and how terrible the police are.

Plus...

It can now be reported that he shot a man in both legs at the Oval Space nightclub in Hackney, east London, on 30 August 2022.

Despite that the officer was still prosecuted. What a joke.

Daughter has been following this as has most of her colleagues. She does the same job as the firearms Bobby. She has sent me a few thoughts and links. What I found disgusting. The mother of the shot guy wanted the judge to stop the press reporting her angelic sons “ history”.

 

[Slime]

I set off for Cardigan Bay recently. Reset the trip and had 350 miles in the tank. On return, approx 250m later, I'd averaged 56mpg and the trip plus remaing fuel hugely exceeded 350.
Then I'm back to short, local trips each day and it plummets.
On just daily short trips that 350 would come in around 310/320.

What car?

 

[Sid Rixon IV]

What car?

3yr Qashqai automatic.
I swear if I could just cruise into the sunset at 50/60 it'd go for days. (I did once hit 60mpg on a long run, for a while - then you see that half mile incline ahead!).
School run, supermarket, golf club etc. etc. has already shrunk last top up range of 300miles to 275.

 

[Tashyboy]

I do wonder if the CPS sometimes feel an obligation to charge in these circumstances because they fear the backlash if they don’t.

Charging decisions are a really fine balancing act at times, and those making the decisions don’t always get them right, but they SHOULD still follow decision making protocols.

But sometimes I feel as though a lower threshold has been applied so that the CPS can say “we’ve done our bit - it’s in the jury’s hands now.”

That said, and to counter that argument, the judiciary are never backwards at coming forwards and saying the it was a frivolous decision to bring a prosecution if they feel the evidence does not warrant it.

Bottom line, this decision will not have been taken lightly, and will have been subject to scrutiny at every stage of the process. So, in fairness, the threshold has most probably been met. If that’s not the case, it’s ultimately for the judiciary to say so.

I think the CPS have said that
Quote,
The Crown Prosecution Service said the decision to prosecute had been made "after an in-depth consideration of all the available evidence".

For me the CPS have looked at the evidence and must of known that the officer would have been found not guilty. Everyone else having seen footage would have come to that decision.

Now here a question for Billy.
I know the prosecution could not mention the guy who was shot previous history.
But and this is a massive but. The CPS knew he was due in court in 10 days time for the shooting of another gang member. Did the CPS Gamble with this poor bloody policeman’s life to see how this unfolded knowing the killed guys past history would unfold the way it has. What also bogged me off was the judge stopped the jury from releasing a statement. Along the lines of this should have never come to court. Why?