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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: London
Posts: 1,319
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Is this a joke ?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770
Quote:
Siege police order suspect a KFC 'to protect human rights'
23:00pm 6th June 2006
Comments Reader comments (46)
rooftop protester
Cornered on a rooftop, the suspected car thief had nowhere left to run.
But as he hurled bricks and tiles at police and the public, Barry Chambers clearly wasn't going to give up without a fight.
And nor would he have to surrender his human right...to a tasty meal.
To the astonishment of local residents, as lunchtime arrived yesterday his demands were rewarded with a Kentucky Fried Chicken takeaway.
A cherry-picker was brought in to ensure the food was delivered hot to Chambers who, once refreshed, resumed his aerial bombardment.
The softly-softly approach - which also included delivering cigarettes and soft drinks - astounded locals in Gloucester whose lives were disrupted by the stand-off.
David Dalton, who runs a nearby guest house said: 'I couldn't believe it when I saw the police sending up a takeaway and cigarettes.
'Surely they should have been starving him out - not giving him food and drink so he can stay up there as long as he likes.
'But no, they used the hydraulic platform to take a KFC meal, a two-litre bottle and a packet of fags.
'Apparently that was exactly what he asked for and I suppose you and I are paying for it.'
Another resident Leanne Roberts, 19, said: 'It's disgraceful. Some innocent people are starving while this chap is being served like a king.
'I've seen firemen go up the ladders and give him takeaways, several cups of teas, biscuits and a pack of his favourite cigarettes.
'He looks very happy up there, smiling and joking with people on the streets. With all that food, it looks like he'll be up there for ages.'
Police officers claimed they were obliged to 'look after his well-being' after they failed to coax Chambers down from the three-storey building.
He caused thousands of pounds of damage to parked cars after clambering up the drainpipe of the building following a high-speed car chase in the early hours of yesterday. Officers immediately cordoned off the street around the house. After refusing to come down for ten hours, 26-year-old Chambers began to make his demands.
He was first given cigarettes and an opened can of Pepsi. But the drink was refused and a sealed two-litre bottle of the drink was demanded instead.
Minutes later, his family-sized portion of KFC was delivered.
A Gloucestershire Police spokesman said: 'He has been demanding various things during the day and one of these was a KFC bargain bucket.
'Although he's on the roof being a nuisance, we still have to look after his well-being and human rights.'
She added: 'It's not his house, and although the residents are a bit worried, we are in close contact with them and they are all right at the moment. Trained negotiators are on the scene, as well as fire and ambulance crews, to talk this man down.
'We have closed the road for public safety as he has been picking tiles off the roof and throwing them.'
Wisdom
Colin Hay, a Liberal Democrat councillor from Cheltenham - where the car chase began - questioned the wisdom of feeding Chambers.
He said: 'Obviously the police did not want this man to jump off the roof but I don't see how spending taxpayers' money on KFC will help him down safely.
'He may have come down sooner if they hadn't fed him because he might have got hungry. I think there are some serious questions to be asked about what happened today - most of all because it makes the police look stupid.
'The public will just think their money is being wasted on looking after suspected criminals.'
Last night, Chambers was arrested around 9.45pm.
A cherry-picker crane was enlisted to ensure the meal was delivered hot to Barry Chambers who, once refreshed, resumed his aerial bombardment. The softly-softly approach, which also included delivering cigarettes and soft drinks, astounded people living locally whose lives have been disrupted by the stand-off.
David Dalton, who runs a nearby guest house said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw the police sending up a takeaway and cigarettes.
"Surely they should have been starving him out - not giving him food and drink so he can stay up there as long as he likes?
"But no, they used the hydraulic platform to take a KFC meal, a two litre bottle of Coke and a packet of fags.
"Apparently that was exactly what he asked for - and I suppose you and I are paying for it."
Another resident Leanne Roberts, 19, added: 2It's disgraceful - some innocent people are starving while this chap is being served like a king.
"I've seen firemen go up the ladders and give him takeaways, several cups of teas, biscuits and a pack of his favourite cigarettes.
"He looks very happy up there, smiling and joking with people on the streets.
"With all that food, it looks like he'll be up there for ages."
Police officers claimed they were obliged to 'look after his well-being' after they failed to coax Chambers down from the three-storey building by more traditional methods.
He has caused thousands of pounds of damage to parked cars after he clambered up the drain pipe of the building following a high-speed car chase in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Officers immediately cordoned off the street around the house in Gloucester, and after refusing to come down for ten hours, the 27-year-old began to make his demands.
He was first given cigarettes and an opened can of Pepsi, but the drink was refused and a sealed 2litre bottle of the drink demanded instead.
Minutes later he was delivered his family-sized portion of KFC.
A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire Police explained: "He has been demanding various things during the day and one of these was a KFC bargain bucket.
"Although he's on the roof being a nuisance, we still have to look after his well-being and human rights."
She added: "It's not his house, and although the residents are a bit worried, we are in close contact with them and they are all right at the moment.
"Trained negotiators are on the scene, as well as fire and ambulance crews, to talk this man down.
"We have closed the road for public safety as he has been picking tiles off the roof and throwing them."
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07-06-2006, 01:37 PM
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