[UK] Police confiscate walking stick from 78 yr old

[silverhawks]

Police confiscate walking stick from retired teacher, 78, because it is an 'offensive weapon'

They must have known he was a troublemaker the moment they saw him.

With his white hair, wax jacket and glasses, 78-year-old Philip Clarkson Webb clearly ticked all the boxes any eagle-eyed policemen would mark as 'danger'.

And as he shuffled along the pavement towards them there was one thing above all they deemed to pose a threat - his walking stick.

The officers surrounded the retired classics teacher and informed him the 3ft wooden cane was an 'offensive weapon' and had to be confiscated.

Mr Clarkson Webb duly handed it over, but the farce did not end there.

When he later went to collect it from his local police station in Southborough, Kent, with his police receipt, he was told it had been misplaced.

It took a string of phone calls for Kent Police to finally admit they had lost it and to offer to buy him a brand new one.

Mr Clarkson Webb was caught up by overzealous policing at a climate camp environmental demonstration in Kingsnorth last month.

He was not one of the activists at the climate camp but merely paid a visit to attend a seminar on trade energy quotas.

The police stopped him and confiscated his walking stick as he approached the site where dozens of policemen, some in riot gear, where stationed.

Mr Clarkson Webb said: "At the bottom of the lane Kent Police officers confiscated my stick as an offensive weapon but gave me a receipt and promised to return it.

"But later when I produced my receipt and asked for the stick it was curtly refused.

"Since that date there have been three different telephone conversations. They've lost the stick even though it had a numbered receipt."

Mr Clarkson Webb, who is currently using his spare stick, said: "What this shows is that the efficiency of the police leaves a lot to be desired.

"In total the policing for this climate camp cost the taxpayer £6 million. It was a disgraceful waste of taxpayers' money."

Medway MP Bob Marshall Andrews criticised the police for being "provocative and heavy handed" and said the vast majority of the people at the climate camp were "thoroughly decent people".

Kent Police Assistant Chief Constable Allyn Thomas has apologised.

He said: "We are sorry we have not been able to return Mr Clarkson Webb's stick and we have apologised to him directly.

"During the climate camp there was a considerable amount of activity and our officers and others from around the country who supported Kent Police had to make swift decisions as part of policing the protestors.

"Any complaints that are made will be looked into thoroughly."

Original article link here.

 

[satchelmcqueen]

they were right to take his stick. it could have been a missle or any kind of flame thrower type of WMD. Yeah Police.

 

[TheEvilDetector]

they were right to take his stick. it could have been a missle or any kind of flame thrower type of WMD. Yeah Police.

I think you are right, it had to have been a WMD.

What puzzles me is why this man was not flown out to an undisclosed location and interrogated by Blackwater.

 

[Pericles]

Sir Robert Peel's Nine Principles

* The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.

* The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.

* Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.

* The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.

* Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.

* Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.

* Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.

* Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.

* The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.

 

[silverhawks]

We have come far from Bobby's rules. =/

Modern day police in the UK aren't so much feared as considered a nuisance; their every action is tied to some form of paperwork. As such, they have no real authority, and since no-one has to listen to them, no-one respects them any more.

The article here shows that - its a "jobsworth" move by a bureaucrat rather than an oppressive police action.

And due to the thousands of laws passed by New Labour over the last decade, the public find themselves criminalised for the smallest action; I believe Westminster is now debating making it illegal to smoke in the presence of a child, subject to arrest and imprisonment.

Now, while I STRONGLY disagree with smoking around children considering the health risks, that should be a matter of common sense and personal responsibility; not something that you need to enforce by law.

 

[Freedom 4 all]

and people ask me why I don't trust cops