[e12e]

Nice anecdotes (I really mean that, not being ironic). I am pretty sure most of Europe is a little less crazy than many parys of the US; but lets not forget that London police shot a guy for the crime of running with a backpack not that long ago[1]. Granted, the justification was terrorism - but it's not as if you can't be abused by police in Europe.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jean_Charles_de_Menez...

[gregsq]

I don't and won't forget that event. It was part of a tendency to hysteria that prevailed at the time. I read the report on it, and there were many flaws in organisation, communication and action, from the commander level down. There's certainly a thin blue line, and crossing it can lead to trouble. But not trouble with weapons usually.

Occasionally when a police officer is shot the tabloids and even the public can be more inclined towards arming the police. Perhaps counter intuitively, it is the police themselves that decline the offer. The reason for that is that policing requires the cooperation of the public to be better effective, according to those police who find the Peel approach effective.

I was only sharing an anecdote or two. Just to show that getting along helps to keep things civil. It becomes even enjoyable.