Greater Manchester police deaths: Moat victim’s family leads demand for armed officers

By GARETH ROSE
Published on 19/09/2012 00:41

THE shooting of two female police constables has led to new calls to arm all officers.

Ash Rathband, whose policeman father David was shot and blinded by Raoul Moat while sitting in a patrol car in 2010, wrote on Twitter: “It’s time for police to be armed in my opinion. Yet again another awful incident.”

PC Rathband’s twin, Darren, tweeted: “Give them more than a bloody piece of plastic and some spray. Tragic!”

However, Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, insisted arming all officers was not the answer. “We are passionate that the British style of policing is routinely unarmed policing,” he said. “Sadly, we know from the experience in America and other countries, that having armed officers does not mean that police officers do not end up getting shot.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said the number of armed police in Britain had increased.

“But this was supposed to be the response to a domestic burglary and that wouldn’t normally require armed officers,” he added. “So there’s no sign that anything wrong was done, the only thing there was was an act of shocking evil by this appalling individual.”