Police officer shot dead in Croydon police custody centre, 25th Sept 2020

[editor]

It's usually the suspects who end up being killed in police stations but how the fuck did they let a guy get in with a gun?

A police officer has been shot dead at Croydon Custody Centre in south London.

A suspect who was taken to the centre produced a weapon and shot the officer before turning the gun on himself.

The officer was treated at the centre in Windmill Road by paramedics after the shooting at 02:15 BST. He later died in hospital of gunshot wounds.

A 23-year-old man was detained by officers at the scene. He was also taken to hospital with a gunshot wound and remains in a critical condition.

Police officer shot dead at Croydon Custody Centre

The long-serving sergeant was an "inspiration to all who knew him", says one colleague.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[skyscraper101]

I'm guessing the presumption is the public generally don't have access to guns. I don't know what the protocol for admitting people into stations is, but last time I had to go, I could just walk in a station without a search.

No doubt though this will fuel the debate about coppers being able to routinely carry firearms, which would obviously be a terrible idea.

 

[TopCat]

I'm guessing the presumption is the public generally don't have access to guns. I don't know what the protocol for admitting people into stations is, but last time I had to go, I could just walk in a station without a search.

Yeah but you walk in and the cops are behind armoured glass and steel door.
This shooter was under arrest, was not in handcuffs and was in custody. Curious as to why no scene of arrest search and why transportation without handcuffs.

 

[tim]

Kate Hoey is gleefully inciting racists to have a go at Sadiq Khan over on Twitter. He must have really pissed her off back in the day when they were both Blairite South London MPs

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Yeah but you walk in and the cops are behind armoured glass and steel door.
This shooter was under arrest, was not in handcuffs and was in custody. Curious as to why no scene of arrest search and why transportation without handcuffs.

Unless you're kicking off then they normally take cuffs off once you hit the custody suite. Depending on what he was nicked for he may not have been thoroughly searched before being brought in, may even have hidden a very small gun up his Gary...

Guess we'll find out in time.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Unless you're kicking off then they normally take cuffs off once you hit the custody suite. Depending on what he was nicked for he may not have been thoroughly searched before being brought in, may even have hidden a very small gun up his Gary...

Guess we'll find out in time.

Unless you are trouble the cuffs are indeed off when you come to the desk, but from what I have seen (from the rushes of editing a million cop shows) the cuffs are usually still on at that point. The only thing I can think is that he was nabbed for something minor (driving related maybe, and probably not intoxicated) where no agro was expected. The other odd thing is that searches for sharps and weapons are usually done before they even transport the suspect. Again, this suggests the suspect was not being taken in for anything remotely major.

 

[Elpenor]

The bbc story says the suspect then turned the gun on himself...

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Unless you are trouble the cuffs are indeed off when you come to the desk, but from what I have seen (from the rushes of editing a million cop shows) the cuffs are usually still on at that point. The only thing I can think is that he was nabbed for something minor (driving related maybe, and probably not intoxicated) where no agro was expected. The other odd thing is that searches for sharps and weapons are usually done before they even transport the suspect. Again, this suggests the suspect was not being taken in for anything remotely major.

I was once arrested by appointment, went to the front desk at the allotted time and was led through to the custody suite to be processed before interview. No searches at all and certainly no cuffs. Doubt this chap was as appointments are normally during the day rather than late at night.

 

[skyscraper101]

Is was a 'custody center' wasn't it. I don't know it that makes any difference to protocol, or how that differs from a regular cop shop but worth mentioning.

 

[TopCat]

I'm wondering if it's someone mentally ill.

 

[existentialist]

I'm wondering if it's someone mentally ill.

Well, if he didn't have problems before, he's got lots now. Not least of which is surviving.

 

[quimcunx]

So maybe someone who knew there was a warrant for his arrest and turned himself in with the intention of committing suicide while taking others with him or this particular officer with him?

 

[brogdale]

Is was a 'custody center' wasn't it. I don't know it that makes any difference to protocol, or how that differs from a regular cop shop but worth mentioning.

Yes it was & yes, AFAIK, it does indeed make a difference. To be taken to the custody centre in Windmill Lane he would be under arrest, so it's difficult to see beyond police incompetence to explain how he retained access to a firearm once under arrest.

 

[dessiato]

I'm not normally a big fan of the police but even they don't deserve to be murdered at work. It must be dreadful for his family.

 

[Pickman's model]

Yeah but you walk in and the cops are behind armoured glass and steel door.
This shooter was under arrest, was not in handcuffs and was in custody. Curious as to why no scene of arrest search and why transportation without handcuffs.

Yeh very surprised by this

 

[Pickman's model]

So maybe someone who knew there was a warrant for his arrest and turned himself in with the intention of committing suicide while taking others with him or this particular officer with him?

The custody sergeant? Would be much easier to top yer man outside work

 

[8ball]

I'm wondering if it's someone mentally ill.

With a gun.

 

[Spymaster]

The bbc story says the suspect then turned the gun on himself...

He didn't manage to kill himself though. Hopefully he'll be a vegetable for the rest of his life.

 

[Pickman's model]

I'm not normally a big fan of the police but even they don't deserve to be murdered at work. It must be dreadful for his family.

Better to get them at home I suppose

 

[krtek a houby]

He didn't manage to kill himself though. Hopefully he'll be a vegetable for the rest of his life.

Edgy

 

[equationgirl]

No checks on mental health if you buy a gun on the black market, if that's where he got it. Even for those who obtain guns legitimately I don't think there is yet a way for their GP to easily flag a negative change in their mental health to the police, even though it was discussed after the Christopher Foster incident over a decade ago.

 

[8ball]

No checks on mental health if you buy a gun on the black market, if that's where he got it. Even for those who obtain guns legitimately I don't think there is yet a way for their GP to easily flag a negative change in their mental health to the police, even though it was discussed after the Christopher Foster incident over a decade ago.

Sure, I was just saying that it was alarming.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

The custody sergeant? Would be much easier to top yer man outside work

Custody Sgt would have been up high behind the desk, probably behind safety glass, there would probably have been one maybe two cops directly beside him, the arresting officers. One of these would probably have been the one that was shot.

 

[Pickman's model]

Assuming it wasn't a derringer very surprised cops didn't notice a pistol on yer man's person. very negligent

 

[Pickman's model]

Custody Sgt would have been up high behind the desk, probably behind safety glass, there would probably have been one maybe two cops directly beside him, the arresting officers. One of these would probably have been the one that was shot.

Doesn't sound like any of the custody suites I've been in

Standard reporting custody sgt shot dead.

 

[Spymaster]

No checks on mental health if you buy a gun on the black market, if that's where he got it. Even for those who obtain guns legitimately I don't think there is yet a way for their GP to easily flag a negative change in their mental health to the police, even though it was discussed after the Christopher Foster incident over a decade ago.

There is. As part of the screening process for a firearms certificate the police contact the applicants GP and ask if there are any medical grounds which should result in the refusal of the FAC.

 

[Pickman's model]

There is. As part of the screening process for a firearms certificate the police contact the applicants GP and ask if there are any medical grounds which should result in the refusal of the FAC.

My understanding of the equivalent procedure in the black market is that purchasers self-assess

 

[Spymaster]

 

[SpookyFrank]

It's a weird one alright. A death in custody that the police are actually taking seriously.

 

[Saul Goodman]

It seems more likely that the gun was taken from a cop.