http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3973261.stm
What a mess, how did we get to a point where the whole of London is now at the mercy of armed gangs, due to this case of a guy being shot for carying a wooden leg.
With the technology we have today, I don't really understand why guns are needed on our streets. Taser guns can take a man down no problem, and while they are not 100% safe, at least if a mistake like this is made it isn't going to be fatal most of the time.
I am against arming the normal bobby with guns full stop. I still think we need armed response units, just in case a situation gets totaly out of hand. However I do think they should be looking to use non leathal force unless they come up against some real firepower. If they had taken the man down with taser, this problem wouldn't exist. If he did have a gun then the taser would still have taken him out!
There are all sorts of other non-lethal weapons available now too, why do we still have our police relying on guns?