The point about Stockwell is that the police simply aren't trained to a sufficient level to get involved in a situation like that, and no amount of pretending they are will elevate SO19 to the level of elite military units, simply because they are based solely in London and their chain of command also have to deal with ordinary police work. They are not trained or experienced enough to operate what was essentially a military operation. Well, was actually a military operation: several of the spotters and observers, who repeatedly said that they were not in a position to confirm the identity of the subject being pursued and therefore that the police should not assume they were following a bomber, were military. Stockwell turned into a disaster because the police chain of command put inexperienced, minimally trained young men into a situation where they believed, incorrectly, that they had no choice but to shoot to protect civilians. As a simple difference, SAS men routinely shoot tens of thousand of rounds a year on ranges, and are trained to make critical shots until they can do it reflexively; policemen simply aren't trained in that way. That means the Army would not have been panicked into making hideous snap decisions. Had the SAS needed to kill a suspect, they could have done so; they would not, however, have been panicked into a debacle such as Stockwell.
I'd been talking post 7/7 with an acquaintance who was ex-military, with a career lasting thirty-odd years in relatively senior roles before spending the rest of his working life as a civilian advisor. He'd been speculating at the resources that would have been required to stop the 7/7 bombers had they known of prior to the bombings. He was of the opinion that it would require experienced and well-led soldiers, with all the problems of jurisdiction that involves. News of Stockwell arrived mid conversation, and he wrote:
^
I'm sad to have been so prophetic. Eight shots rapid into the head and
shoulder, from a standing position and whilst two of your mates were holding
him down??
The last time I heard of anything like that was in the Radfan some 40 years
ago. Two teenage soldiers brought back to camp the body of a dizzie
(dissident) they had just shot. They were as pleased with themselves as two
kids who have just bagged their first rabbit. Not so much a body but a bag
of raw hamburger, bone splinters and guts, held together by some tattered
rags (they had put some 30 rounds from their SLRs into him). The Company
Commander, stepping out of his tent to inspect the item, said words to the
effect, "Oh for fck's sake! Did you really* have to do that?". To which
the answer was, "Well, every time we hit him he kept moving - so we kept
shooting, Sir". Plus ca change, I guess.
I make no criticism of the policeman who fired the shots but have serious
reservations about the management and training that directly led to
unfortunate termination of the Stockwell incident. Then again and given that
someone needs to do such work, I am basically unhappy at the thought of
employing relatively large numbers of policemen who, in the nature of
things, will have limited training and of practical experience little to
none at all.
^
T