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| Britain |
| Woman told son’s plastic sword could be offensive weapon |
| 2003-05-20 |
| Hat tip to Sgt Stryker. Police officers have reprimanded a mother-of-two for allowing her seven-year-old son to leave his plastic toy sword in her car. Karen McFarlane, 38, has been told she could face charges for having an offensive weapon after two officer spotted the toy while her car was parked in Swindon. Police told her the 30-inch sword might cause panic if it was spotted by a passer-by, reports the Daily Mail. The mother said: "I can't believe they could be so daft as to think that anyone would seriously think this toy was a real sword." She initially refused a request to put the sword in the boot, but then relented when the WPC and her male colleague threatened to arrest her. A Wiltshire Police spokesman said they had no record of the incident, and admitted anything can be adapted into an offensive weapon, "even a rolled-up newspaper, depending on how you use it." I can't come up with any witty or biting comments to add. It's so absurd that I'm too disgusted. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #10 Tony,I herd about that poor guy.Now you say one of the thieves is sueing him for loss of wages,how damn ridiculos is that? Here in Arizona,U.S. you can shoot a thief breaking into your home but,if he falls out the window/door better drag his ass inside or else it's murder. Saw a talk show(Oprah or one of those)in wich one of the guests was a guy recently on trial for killing a burgler,An audience member ask"Do you really think your stereo is worth someones life" the guy replied "Don't you think that thief should have ask himself that". |
| Posted by: Raptor 2003-05-21 06:49:47 |
| #9 Old Patriot: "...A truly dangerous man can create a lethal weapon from anything." In 1965, as part of E&E training at Ft. Benning, they taught how to use then new-to-the-world plastic credit cards as "razors" - just use a nail file to sharpen one of the long edges. They don't check for that in airports, do they? "...The other five percent of the population are either out ripping off some vacant flat,..." Judging from what I've been reading, think that's probably closer to 20% - and they're armed. |
| Posted by: LVK 2003-05-20 19:40:23 |
| #8 "One of These Days I'm Going to ...spoon ...You Into Little Pieces?" Doesn't have the same ring lol |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-05-20 18:55:35 |
| #7 I caught that reference mojo - Pink Floyd!!! |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-05-20 16:40:26 |
| #6 Exactly, OP. "Ad-Hoc Weapons and Tactics". Careful with that spoon, Eugene... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-05-20 16:28:05 |
| #5 "There is no such thing as a dangerous weapon. There are only dangerous men. A truly dangerous man can create a lethal weapon from anything." - my unconventional warfare instructor in the Air Force. The difference between "potential" and "actual" is one of motivation. I doubt seriously that any of the 95% of law-abiding Britons would have worried about a toy sword. The other five percent of the population are either out ripping off some vacant flat, or trying to mug people in the park. Twits and nonsense - there's no way to escape either. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-05-20 15:57:02 |
| #4 I mourn for Britain. What happened over there? Bulldog? |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-05-20 15:46:31 |
| #3 Considering that an IQ of 100 is the average by definition, half the people you meet aren't even that smart. Rational thought is a major challenge for a big chunk of the general population. Pity those "special" individuals who can be trained to carry out an occupation but are incapable of independent thought or logical analysis. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-05-20 15:42:06 |
| #2 A Wiltshire Police spokesman said they had no record of the incident, and admitted anything can be adapted into an offensive weapon, "even a rolled-up newspaper, depending on how you use it." ....Which means that in the U.K., one can actually be arrested for carrying a rolled-up newspaper, depending on whoever is evaluating the situation. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-05-20 15:35:00 |
| #1 Dammit--This should be under "Britain". Must have bumped the mousewheel... Sorry, Fred. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-05-20 15:12:38 |