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UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
11–20 of 33 posts
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#12the absolute state of UK law enforcement has proven American constitutionalist claims of a slippery slope for both gun control and hate legislation.
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#13That thing looks less dangerous than a decent pen. Def less risky than a rock. Four months in prison for this seems like abuse. This could result in lost job, lost housing, etc, for a toy. Why do people support this?
> Why do people support this?
Most probably don't - but who's asking them? And the perception of high violent crime rates gets many people anxious and scared, and eager to rubber-stamp all sorts of zero tolerance/zero intelligence machismo policing and justice.
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#14Guardian piece is more in depth and detailed
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/03/man-...
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#15[Facepalm/] Whatever the local knife crime rate might be, if this guy has no links to criminal activity or gangs, then I'm thinking that 4 months in His Majesty's chokey (plus a £154 fine) is really not a win for either the Crown's or public's interests. Lecture the guy for being an idiot, give him a menu of (1) 4 hours in the stocks, in public, under an "I Wuz A Moron" sign, (2) 400 hours charity work for a Zeldatho…
Did he threaten anyone ? Did he have a prior record ?
Article is lite on details, but if no priors and no threats, I would say maybe a £1000 File and community service would be enough.
I do not know the laws in the UK, is it illegal to carry any type of blade in public ?
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#16That thing looks less dangerous than a decent pen. Def less risky than a rock. Four months in prison for this seems like abuse. This could result in lost job, lost housing, etc, for a toy. Why do people support this?
They don't show it "open", and i don't know enough about what it is to spend any time finding the actual "toy" to see how dangerous it looks.
What happens, though, is the police will do something and then post-hoc rationalize it. Without video there's no way i can believe he was "brandishing" this "toy". Some guy who pointed a single finger at a cop in the US recently received a $175,000 payout after being arrested and charged because he was constitutionally protected by the first amendment for his "speech". Didn't stop the cops from arresting an older man, though.
I've seen a lot of abuse under the color of authority articles and videos and analysis, so here's a possible series of events. Bray may be a little touched - the article skates around this, but in a high crime area, someone who's a little weird or different or moving differently may find the police initiating contact. Bray may have had this toy on a keychain or near his hand, and on a frisk or whatever the police found it. Bray may not have "cooperated" fully with the invasion on his person, so is arrested, and charged with having a bladed weapon.
I was witness to police threatening someone with being charged with having a sawed-off shotgun for merely transporting a pneumatic potato cannon in their trunk. Why were they pulled over? Their license plate lights weren't bright enough because a bug had gotten into the lens and died - you know, "let's harass the poors" sort of policing.
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#17Clearly caught them having a bad day
Considering that a woman was arrested for silently (as in without sound or words) praying in front of an abortion clinic? No. This is standard asinine British police behavior. This guy was a bit of an idiot, but the British police are a few IQ points above Muppet.
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#18The memes about knife crime in the UK are true...
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#19Clearly caught them having a bad day
Considering that a woman was arrested for silently (as in without sound or words) praying in front of an abortion clinic? No. This is standard asinine British police behavior. This guy was a bit of an idiot, but the British police are a few IQ points above Muppet.
above/under …tbd
Re: UK man imprisoned for 4 months after walking up to cops with 6" Master Sword
#20[Facepalm/] Whatever the local knife crime rate might be, if this guy has no links to criminal activity or gangs, then I'm thinking that 4 months in His Majesty's chokey (plus a £154 fine) is really not a win for either the Crown's or public's interests. Lecture the guy for being an idiot, give him a menu of (1) 4 hours in the stocks, in public, under an "I Wuz A Moron" sign, (2) 400 hours charity work for a Zeldatho…
Did he threaten anyone ? Did he have a prior record ? Article is lite on details, but if no priors and no threats, I would say maybe a £1000 File and community service would be enough. I do not know the laws in the UK, is it illegal to carry any type of blade in public ?
> is it illegal to carry any type of blade in public ?
My impression from what I have seen through the years in the news (I live in the US), this is the case. I remember seeing London police would setup check points in the metro and check passengers for knifes. To my surprise, most common weapons they would find - kitchen knives.