Don't Shoot!?

A furor over firearms

The suspect, David Martin, 35, was an escaped prisoner charged with the attempted murder of a police officer and described as armed and dangerous. Thus police moved in forcefully when they thought they spotted Martin in London's Kensington district, sitting in an automobile with a former girlfriend, a model named Sue Stephens. Members of the pursuit force, who, unlike most British policemen, were armed with Smith & Wesson .38 handguns, riddled the car with 14 bullets. A badly wounded man slumped out of the car, and Stephens allegedly shouted, "You've made a terrible mistake!" after which a voice asked, "Who is it, Susie? Who have we shot?" As it turned out, the victim was not Martin, but another friend of Stephens', a television film editor named Stephen Waldorf. Calling the incident "a tragic case of mistaken identity," Scotland Yard suspended three detectives involved and launched an investigation.

The incident raised a storm of controversy in the British press and sent shock waves through Parliament. In the House of Commons, Home Secretary William Whitelaw called the shooting "a most serious, grave and disturbing incident." "I can guarantee," Whitelaw promised, "that there will be no coverup, no whitewash, under any circumstances." Said an editorial in the Financial Times: "The event provokes the fear that Britain has taken an unwelcome step toward the gun-toting law-and-order methods which are associated with steadily worsening violent crime in many American cities."

While Britain's violent crime is low by U.S. standards and most police officers remain traditionally unarmed, the number of incidents involving firearms has risen substantially over the past twelve years. Scotland Yard began issuing firearms on a regular basis to officers concerned with terrorism or other particularly dangerous cases in 1972; since 1980 their guns have been drawn approximately 300 times, with 52 shots fired in twelve incidents. Meanwhile, the number of firearms issued to police officers each year has grown to more than 6,000, a sevenfold increase over the past ten years. Guidelines governing police firearms stipulate that they are to be used only as "a means of defense."

Last week two of the detectives suspended in the Martin incident were formally charged, one for attempted murder, the other for attempting to wound. After a brief appearance in court, they were released on bail until another hearing scheduled for March 17. Waldorf, meanwhile, was out of danger and listed in fair condition. Whatever the outcome of the case, it has clearly raised doubts among the British public about whether an armed police force would actually serve better to protect the people. Said the Sunday Times: "The traditional image of the unarmed British bobby may never recover."

Michael Pagan, an unemployed laborer, sparked a national furor 6 1/2 months ago when he wandered into Queen Elizabeth II's Buckingham Palace bedroom for an early-morning chat. After several court appearances, he was sent to a maximum-security hospital for psychiatric treatment. Pagan was freed last week by a mental health review tribunal on the grounds that he no longer posed a danger to others. Many Britons thought otherwise. Conservative Member of Parliament Sheila Faith had one word for the decision: "incomprehensible." This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.