The Police are Ignoring me!

[fletch_talon]

After a failed suicide attempt, a cop tried to cuff my 17 year old girlfriend. Technically, this is what he was supposed to do (She was under 18 and tried to slash her wrists, technically that counts as knife crime). I stopped him, he chilled out and asked her to sit in the back of his car (With the door wide open) and calm down.

But because he reached for his cuffs, because of his general aggressive manner, I reported him to his higher ups. I got a few phonecalls, letters, signed things off, did a phone interview and he was put on suspension for being a moron. That is how things should go and it made me happy that in the UK you can ***** about things like that, even though he technically did nothing whatsoever wrong, yada yada.

Wow...
Congratulations, you got a guy put on suspension for doing his job which involved protecting your girlfriend (even if its from herself).

You even specifically state that "technically" he did what he was supposed to do, what he has been told to do in such situations, and yet you're proud of the fact that he got shit on for it.

If you'd gotten the established procedure changed so that he wasn't "technically" required to handcuff attempted suicide cases then it'd be a whole different thing.

Too bad if your girlfriend found something sharp on her way to the car, then the cop would get shit on for not following procedure.

EDIT:
And now when I re-read the post I see that there is the easily missed reference to "aggressive manner". Try placing more emphasis on this point in the future, it strongly changes the moral of the story.

It was the general aggression. I didn't want to dwell too much on the actual event but, well, here goes.

I called an ambulance (And did what I could to sort out the whole "Bleeding from her wrists" thing) and was told to go and wait for it at the end of the road. We were not told anything about a cop being called. Out of nowhere (He appeared in an unmarked car) the guy was suddenly there, he was rather insulting "Now what have you gone and done to yourself" and he immediately reached for his cuffs, said something along the lines of "I am going to have to cuff you".

Bearing in mind she was a terrified 17 year old it was all a bit ridiculous. She was not in a position to harm anyone, she could have very easily been restrained had she tried to. Plus, as I tried to make clear, I had already searched her and removed the pencil sharpener blade she had used on herself.

Oh, and I did try to get how this sort of case is dealt with changed. It was a large part of my complaint. But getting how this sort of situation is dealt with changed is pretty bloody impossible. Oh, and to be utterly frank, the guy was suspended thanks to my reporting how he acted. Not for the way he acted necessarily, but because he failed to file a report on the situation so my word on his aggressive behavior immediately overturned any of his defense.

Fun Fact: Suicide is not illegal in the UK yet trying to kill yourself CAN lead to criminal convictions. There was a case of a Scottish lady who as given an ASBO and banned from "Jumping infront of trains or into bodies of water." so if she ever manages to sort herself out she is still effectively unemployable for the next 5 years.

The real moral I was trying to get at (I just derailed myself again) is that if you follow correct procedure, you can make your voice heard.

See now, that makes more sense, sorry to make you revisit it.
The worst part now that you've explained what happened is that this guy apparently thought apprehension with handcuffs took priority over her medical wellbeing.
Paramedics or ambulance should have been first to look at her, the cop should have only been at hand to ensure she didn't hurt herself in the meantime (without making existing wounds worse by encasing them with metal).

 

[ElPatron]

if I followed this up with "And then he took out his baton and sodomized her" you would somehow go "Well its protocol!".

Not protocol. If the best thing you can come up with is Slippery Slopes then you did right in ending the argument.

 

[ElPatron]

snip

Your whole argument is based on the fact that she is your relative and you know her.

Now think about me. I am a police officer now. A person tries to kill herself (a person who I don't know at all) which obviously means that something isn't alright. People just don't attempt suicide out of nowhere.

Should I restrain her and get sucker punched by a relative, or should I risk having my carry weapon stolen and shot?

I'll follow protocol, specially because I can get in trouble for not doing so. And truth be told, it has been established that the police are not actually responsible for saving your life, so I won't care if someone will face the added trauma of being cuffed.

Look, the whole point of a protocol is "not getting in trouble". When seconds matter, if you ask a police officer to take a few minutes to think PEOPLE. WILL. DIE.

Protocols exist so that you can respond faster and more efficiently. You're complaining that police officers are "robots". If policemen humanize the situations they face, their job is a lot harder and they will treat people differently instead of trying to be unbiased. People will get away with lots of things if they start reasoning all police officers.

I don't blame the Dutch for Srebrenica. I can't blame anyone who wasn't directly responsible for the outcome.

I don't blame the UN forces for not shooting when people are being whacked with machetes in front of them.

 

[ElPatron]

One: Girlfriend. Outside of whatever village you live in, people do not date people who are related to them.

Misread it and thought she was your sister, damn it. But hell, you're a hot-headed person, aren't you?

Two: I live in the UK.

But I don't. And someone who just attempted suicide is a threat to everyone.

Three: Any man who stands by and watches innocent people get slaughtered or allows them to be marched off to certain death is a bastard. Protocol should not be followed.

I am human. I look after myself and my own first. If my job is not on the line, you bet I will intervene.

If my actions mean that me and my subordinates will lose their job and possibly be killed... The hell with the victims.
This coming from a very vengeful person.

Cops are legally obligated to help people. So you are incorrect.

Find any court ruling that establishes that police officers are responsible for your life.

If what you said was true then it would open the doors to crazy legal action blaming police officers that were just doing their job.

And if you are a copper you should do what you feel is right.

No. My morals should not intervene in the situation otherwise I would refuse to arrest a poor guy who just robbed a millionaire.

Everyone has different morals and if there is no protocol everyone will be biased towards certain people.

Treating someone who has tried to end their life the same as someone who has tried to stab someone is fucking insane.

She used the knife on "someone".

Protocol which means that peacekeepers are unable to be peacekeepers is fucking dumb.

Si vis pacem para bellum. The only true peacekeepers are warfighters. I don't give a flying rat's ass about the UN, with all due respect to the Blue Helmets.

 

[ElPatron]

(A cop can see you getting raped and walk on by without any ramifications.) but it aint the same in the rest of the civilised world.

Not very subtle, are we?

You mean where people can be stopped and searched for almost no reason, or where you can bomb the shit out of brown people but it's okay because you're more "civilized" than the US?

Yeah, I live in Europe and I do not have the same rights as you snobs. At least the US would give me the right and means to defend myself.

If you're trying to convince me that I am selfish for not wanting to die while taking care of someone who is going trough mental instability? Or because I think my family needing me alive is more important than the mental trauma that cuffing someone is?

Same thing can be said about straitjackets or... actual cuffs? That are used everyday to restrain people? I'm gonna need actual studies that support your way of thinking.

Anyway, this argument is clearly about the police ignoring the needs of someone, I don't see how it is offtopic.

 

[ElPatron]

In my eyes, yes, that would make you selfish.

Why? No, really, explain.

It only takes a second to pull the service Glock 19 from it's holster and pull the trigger.

Am I selfish by not wanting to get killed, or having a suicidal person blow part of his/her skull off while I was supposed to protect that person?

You're basing your opinion on emotions and because you know the person the policeman was dealing with. I am basing my opinion of the fact that someone who just attempted suicide is NOT mentally stable, and that I am responsible for not letting random people steal handguns.

So stop thinking as a boyfriend, and start thinking as someone who will get in trouble if the wrong decisions are made.

Didn't want to tackle the part about politics but goddamn it, the Socialist Party is the reason my country is a shithole where people can shoot at cops and not go to jail immediately.

 

[ElPatron]

It only takes a second to pull the service Glock 19 from it's holster and pull the trigger.

The idea that she would have been able to assault him, unboutton his holster, remove the weapon, release the safety catch, cock the weapon and fire it without being restrained is laughable.

Modern holsters do not have buttons. I haven't seen one of those in years if I don't count those Cowboy Action Shooting dudes.

The Glock 19 does not have a safety "catch". Many modern handguns to not have them because they are not necessary anymore. Basically the only weapons with safeties today are based on very old designs or just handguns intended to be used by the armed forces.

There is no need to cock a service weapon. Only in the movies and Counter Strike you need to re-cock weapons every time you need to use it. In real life, doing so will just eject an unfired round and feed another one. Besides, cocking a weapon takes half a second and can be done during the draw.

The only thing that is necessary is pulling the trigger. Doing so will disengage the striker safety, cock the striker and release it in the same motion. Anyone is able to disarm a police officer if that person really wants to.

 

[ElPatron]

Coppers within the United Kingdom do not have weapons.

I don't live in the UK. There are over 6 thousand million (or 6 American billions) people who don't.

I understand your point if what you are trying to say is "suicidal people don't need to be cuffed because they can't reach a gun" but it's perfectly possible to kill or severely harm a human being without one.

Plus, what is the definition of a "secure holster" in the UK? One that is actually "secure" and will prevent easy drawing, or one that just prevents the gun from falling?

Because to me a "secure" holster is something that allows for a quick draw, blocks the trigger from outsiders and can be used to prevent someone from stealing it. Of course, it's like safes. They aren't actually safe if you have the tools to crack it open.


Remember that governmental issue is made by the lowest bidder.

I fully realise this has become a case of "I WANT THE LAST WORD" but please, stop being an idiot. Imma go play audiosurf now.

I am sorry if I insulted you in any way, but I honestly don't know what I did to have you spitting insults in the last three posts you made.