Britain - man arrested for owning armed Lara Croft statue

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Lucky

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On the bright side at least they didn't hold him on the ground and then shoot him a dozen times.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=455037&in_page_id=1770
laracroft1RB1505_228x388.jpg

Armed police raid home after mistaking Lara Croft dummy for gunman
James Tozer - More by this author » Last updated at 18:57pm on 15th May 2007

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Model behaviour: The mannequin armed police swooped on

When police spotted a gun-wielding suspect lurking in the shadows of a suburban front room, their response was swift.

Armed officers burst into the house, shouted at the owner to lie on the floor, and ordered him to surrender his weapon.

But efficiency turned to embarrassment when the "gunman" turned out to be a life-sized model of the video game character Lara Croft, complete with trademark outsized pistols.

Computer shop owner David Williams, 42, had taken the dummy home to put it up for sale on the auction site eBay.

As the source of the confusion dawned on all concerned, it might have been the moment for an apology from the police.

Instead, however, Mr Williams was taken to the cells and held for more than 13 hours before being released.

He is now on bail for a suspected firearms offence, and Lara Croft remains impounded as evidence.

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Lara Croft

David Williams was arrested for having Lara Croft model in window

"It would have been laughable if it hadn't been so terrifying," he said yesterday. "One of the police held a gun and yelled, 'Where's the weapon, where's the weapon?'

"I didn't have a clue what was going on, I assumed they'd got the wrong house. I couldn't believe it when I realised they'd mistaken a Lara Croft dummy for someone with a gun."

Father-of-two Mr Williams had phoned police after receiving nuisance phone calls, and officers arrived at his house in Dukinfield, near Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, shortly before midnight.

He says he did not hear them arrive, but unknown to him one officer had seen the dummy's silhouette through the front window and called for armed back-up.

Soon afterwards, the street was cordoned off and a team of armed officers burst in through Mr Williams's back door.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said officers peered inside after Mr Williams failed to answer his front door.

"They believed they saw a silhouette of a person pointing what appeared to be a firearm inside the house," she said.

They followed "correct procedure" by withdrawing to await armed officers, she added.

"Officers then went into the house and found a mannequin holding a toy weapon."

Mr Williams, who says he is speaking to lawyers about a possible claim for wrongful arrest, will hear whether he faces further action when he answers bail next month.
 
If they thought that the statue in question was a gunman, there's more amiss in Ol' England then I first thought... :what: :D
 
Oh bother. They couldn't just have a good laugh at their expense and say sorry. This is the perfect situation for an extreme frivolous lawsuit to retaliate.

Justin
 
They responded to a shadow on a window?

It could just have easily have been the shadow
of an indoor plant appearing to be a figure with a
gun as it was a statue of a video game tomb raider.

I know it's UK but a raid should be based on some form
of probable cause, and a raid on a mistaken premise
should never be cause for an arrest.

Do the police respond to clouds as well? Oh, look, that
cloud up there looks like a snowman with an AK!
 
The same end result could have happened in almost every police jurisdiction in the US. The cops will arrest the innocent party and lock him up, rather than admit to a silly mistake. That is just standard police practice in most of the US. Eventually it gets sorted out, but by then the innocent party has spent time in jail, been beaten and hassled. Most often, those at fault for the mishap will not even apologize.
 
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I guess soon people get rated by the police in the UK when downloading any youtube video with guns!!
Since "Tony" is gone, maybe reality will follow?!
 
Yeah. :cool:

I could understand if it had been a life-sized Barney, but... :scrutiny:
 
Coming to a town here in America, soon.
By the way, what would a normal guy want with a life-size Lara Croft doll?
Oh, nevermind...
 
If that was someone with a hand gun, they could have shot up everyone in the house, had lunch, then a nap while the police "wait for backup." Once more, understand that the police are not there to protect your life, they're there to see if a crime has been committed and to try to arrest a suspect.
 
That is... incredible. How did they even notice the gun, let alone act on it as a threat?! First thing any mentally stable person would notice is the maniquin's breasts, followed by the fact that it was, indeed, a maniquin. At that point, the presence of the cast image of a firearm is irrelevant.

They couldn't just have a good laugh at their expense and say sorry. This is the perfect situation for an extreme frivolous lawsuit to retaliate.

Not going to happen. See, if they'd just barged in unannounced and said, "oh, sorry ol' chap, we made a mistake" and leave, the person would likely sue them and win, with the cops involved getting a reprimand. But, if they rough him up a bit, arrest him, etc. the extent to which the $*%#-up extends is greatly increased, impacting more police officers to a greater degree, and everyone is trying to cover their own rears by holding nobody accountable. If the people directly responsible aren't held accountable, then their superiors can't be, and neither can the politicians who are over them.

Therefore, the politicians and judges will sweep the even under the carpet to essentially save themselves and their colleagues from any formal accountability or punishment. After all, they and their policies are the ones responsible for making it possible in the first place through broad-sweeping policy.
 
The guy is lucky. U.S. cops can be just as nasty when THEY make mistakes, but the Brit "armed police" are all too often totally idiotic about guns and tend to start shooting at the slightest provocation or no provocation.

An interesting sidelight is that applications from police to become firearms certified will be rejected if the applicant has any knowledge of firearms or has ever owned or been around any kind of firearm. The nutso powers that be are afraid that if the cop knows anything about guns he might be too sympathetic to gun owners, when he is supposed to kill without compunction.

Jim
 
How could they NOT tell it was a mannequin? Take a look at the perfect teeth in that smile....definately not a real life British gunman/woman.:neener:
 
By Roccobro:
This is the perfect situation for an extreme frivolous lawsuit to retaliate.

doubtful. When I interned with a group of barristers in London, they kept making the point that they don't sue people like we do here in the states. Over and over. Even when they shot that guy in the underground, all that people were saying was, "How awful." and nobody even seemed to think about the notion of a massive lawsuit filed by his family. It really is different there. Not necessarily for the best though... and I won't even get into weapon laws.

I wonder what would have become of me had I been caught with my Leatherman Micra which I carried daily there. Maybe nothing.... maybe something.
 
W O W!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????inbread????
 
You know...

Every time I read about some idiotic instance like that occuring in Britain I imagine that there's a real opportunity for the French to exercise a battalion or two of their military and conquer England - something they haven't done since - what - 1066 or so?

I can see it now. The French land - guns at the ready, British vacationers on the beach see the french, yell like little girls - "they've got guns" and start screaming in fear. The french hearing the screams drop their guns and dash back into the water until one or two remember they're the ones with guns. They cautiously return, recover their weapons and creep up the now deserted beach. Realizing they've won they begin to cheer. After a while the cheers die and they start looking at each other with confused looks on their faces. It's been so long since they won a battle that they've forgotten what to do next.
 
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