Police overkill?

[Accy cyclist]

I was in a pub last night after the football match. In walks a bloke,orders a pint then looks at it. I't's in a plastic glass. I want a real glass! he says. Sorry but it's plastic glasses on match days, says the barmaid. The customer wasn't having it. He kept going on and on about this plastic glass. After about 5 minutes of this two big blokes(turned out to be doorstaff/bouncers) walk over to him and tell him to either shut up or drink up and leave. He started to put his point across to them. Like typical bouncers they were a bit heavy handed. When the customer insisted he wasn't leaving the bouncers physically ejected him. Nothing too heavy, just an arm up the back then forced through the door. About 5 minutes later the police turn up in one of those blue riot vans.then three burly coppers walk into the pub saying there's been an allegation of an assault. They took the bouncers outside to question them, also asking me and other customers what happened. I thought that might be it but 5 minutes later another van turns up with more coppers. I didn't go outside the pub but looking through the window i could see the police stood around doing not much. After watching the pub's cctv of the event and a good 45 minutes later the police left, satisfied that no one had been assaulted.
Five or 6 coppers, 45 minutes valuable time, all for some bloke's allegations of assault! The next time the police say they're understaffed i'll remember this incident!

 

[swee'pea99]

So, I left my office in Covent Garden one evening many moons ago, spliffette in hand, and got stopped on the pavement by American tourists asking for directions. I was giving them the way to Ly-sester Square when some bloke butted in. "Excuse me," I said, "I'm trying to help these people. Can you just wait a sec and then I'll help you as best I can." "Er, no," he said, flashing a warrant card, "You need to help me right now."

Long story short, after I'd been standing on the front step with three of them for about ten minutes 'waiting for the van', I said "Look, we're going to Bow Street, right?" The main cop agreed. "Can't we just walk there, me & you, and let these other two go and do something useful? I mean, it's not like I'm going to do a runner - apart from anything else, you saw me come out of my office; you know where I work." "No," he insisted, "you have to be taken in a van." "Why?" I said. It's five minutes walk. We could have been there ten minutes ago." "For your safety," he said. "Safety?" I said. "What, in case I injure myself walking five minutes?" He got grumpy, but insisted that was how it had to be.

So I stood there with these three cops until eventually, after about 25 minutes, the van arrived, and they put me in the back. The traffic was bad. So it took me and the van and the two cops in the front seats about another 20 minutes to get round the corner to Bow Street. So, what any sensible approach would have taken one cop five minutes ended up occupying about two cop hours and the better part of a cop van hour. Bonkers.

 

[PhilDawson8270]

Police get called to a place, where there's been an allegation of violence. A place that has likely to have had violence in the past (based on serving in plastic instead of glass. This is often at the request of the police/licensing authority/council)

A place where there's a large crowd of drunken people, a place where there's likely to be a large crowd of people who just want to watch a game.

You expect just 1 or 2 to turn up to a situation that may end up involving several people?

How about, instead of blaming the police for "wasting time". How about blaming the drunken thugs who feel the need to kick off with a barmaid because their drink wasn't in a glass, and thus wasted police resources for a considerable amount of time.

Would you have complained if just 2 turned up and it turned into a fight with a couple of guys, couple of bouncers, and you got hit or pushed into something? Would that then be police fault as they didn't send enough?

 

[Hill Wimp]

I was in a pub last night after the football match. In walks a bloke,orders a pint then looks at it. I't's in a plastic glass. I want a real glass! he says. Sorry but it's plastic glasses on match days, says the barmaid. The customer wasn't having it. He kept going on and on about this plastic glass. After about 5 minutes of this two big blokes(turned out to be doorstaff/bouncers) walk over to him and tell him to either shut up or drink up and leave. He started to put his point across to them. Like typical bouncers they were a bit heavy handed. When the customer insisted he wasn't leaving the bouncers physically ejected him. Nothing too heavy, just an arm up the back then forced through the door. About 5 minutes later the police turn up in one of those blue riot vans.then three burly coppers walk into the pub saying there's been an allegation of an assault. They took the bouncers outside to question them, also asking me and other customers what happened. I thought that might be it but 5 minutes later another van turns up with more coppers. I didn't go outside the pub but looking through the window i could see the police stood around doing not much. After watching the pub's cctv of the event and a good 45 minutes later the police left, satisfied that no one had been assaulted.
Five or 6 coppers, 45 minutes valuable time, all for some bloke's allegations of assault! The next time the police say they're understaffed i'll remember this incident!

As you have absolutely no idea exactly what the Police had originally been told when they had been called to the location, unless of course you were the caller, then you won't know what they based their response judgement on.

Also the second van could have been passing by and just wanted to check their colleagues were alright.

There could have been a multitude of reasons why what you witnessed happened of which you are totally unaware so to make such an uninformed comment as "The next time the police say they're understaffed i'll remember this incident!" is just dim.

 

[snorri]

In walks a bloke,orders a pint then looks at it. I't's in a plastic glass. I want a real glass! he says. Sorry but it's plastic glasses on match days, says the barmaid.

At which point customer should have said "no glass no sale thank you" and walked out saving everybody a lot of stress and police time.

Edit to say the customer should have taken a hint and turned around before even entering the premises when he saw the bouncers at the door.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Walking into a busy pub as a copper is probabley the most dangerous it gets as a rule..bar armed villains
Footy fans have a habit of being out of control for no reason.

plastic glasses says it all

 

[classic33]

He'd the chance given to drink it, then shutup n'supup and he declined both.
The plastic glass rule was brought in for a reason, which he didn't agree with, but he chose to take it out on staff.

 

[Tim Hall]

Did the pub in question have a flat roof?

 

[Markymark]

Did the pub in question have a flat roof?

No but I'll wager it was up north.

 

[Crackle]

Did the pub in question have a flat roof?

It had a few flatfoots if Accy has it right.

 

[Paulus]

In answer to the title of the thread, No.

 

[Andy_R]

I was in a pub last night after the football match. In walks a bloke,orders a pint then looks at it. I't's in a plastic glass. I want a real glass! he says. Sorry but it's plastic glasses on match days, says the barmaid. The customer wasn't having it. He kept going on and on about this plastic glass. After about 5 minutes of this two big blokes............

No but I'll wager it was up north.

I think the clue was in the original post....if it was down south it would have been a half, served in a babycham glass....

 

[Markymark]

I think the clue was in the original post....if it was down south it would have been a half, served in a babycham glass....

And anyone who had that sort of attitude couldn't have afforded a drink anyway.

 

[pplpilot]

If so called windyball fans stopped behaving like knuckle dragging morons because some other bunch of blokes kicked a ball better than another bunch of blokes then getting all stupid over it, maybe then there would be a lot of Police resource saved all over the country.

 

[Fnaar]

I've had a van load of police and a helicopter looking for me, in a genuine case of mistaken identity.
It's a long story, but I apparently matched the description of someone who'd robbed a house and beaten up the owner.
Also due to what seem now funny reasons, my answers to their questions were a bit iffy too.