Man pretends to be a police officer, attempts to arrest a woman

[WhereYouLeftIt]

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-58829818.amp

So, Gary Shepherd, 44, pretends to be a policeman, tells a woman in a car park that he's arresting her for drug dealing. She "challenged him with the help of a passer-by." (Presumably there were no passing buses to hail.)

He's jailed for 22 weeks for this. But, also mentioned is that he already had a 4 week suspended sentence. This relates to -

www.nwemail.co.uk/news/19540305.man-hit-brothers-altercation-outside-barrow-pub/

Shouting death threats to two brothers (ages not given), getting a stick and hitting one of their cars. His connection to these two men is that he "had been in a relationship with one of the brothers’ daughters." Defending solicitor claimed "Shepherd had struggled with alcohol dependency and was seeking help for his problems."

So what happened between June when he was squaring up to men he knew, and October when he was attempting to abduct a woman who was a stranger to him? Is this the normal trajectory of escalation? Has he been flashing but the police never pursued that/it was never reported?

And what the hell - is this what we have to deal with now? Has Wayne Couzens created a blueprint that will be followed by predators from now on?

[Idontlike]

Terrifying for the poor woman. It’s great that he was sentenced so quickly though, hopefully that will deter anyone else trying to do a copycat.

[MrMrsJones]

Was he actually trying to abduct her, or being a dick and trying to be funny?

Either way he deserves the sentence

[PickUpAPepper]

I heard about this and found it really alarming. Hopefully it won’t be a regular pattern, but the option is out there now. I don’t care whether it was an incredibly sick joke or an opportunist try-on, I’ve warned my dd against trusting policemen if she knows she has done nothing wrong.

The Cumbria police were putting out a statement saying that regular policemen arresting you would give you their collar number on request, and would also radio through to the station to confirm Id, area of patrol and reason for arrest which is something. I only hope police elsewhere in the country are going to be reasonable too.

[IM0GEN]

@MrMrsJones

Was he actually trying to abduct her, or being a dick and trying to be funny?

Either way he deserves the sentence

Well he was wearing a police lanyard so it was obviously pre meditated.

So not a joke. Not funny. It’s not a woman having a sense of humour failure .

It’s not a woman over reacting. Or any other victim blaming misogynistic phrases.

He’s not a dick, he’s a criminal who is a risk to women.

[MrMrsJones]

@IM0GEN

It wasn't my suggestion that it was a sense of humour failure or such like.

I wondered if he was seriously trying to abducte her, given Couzens sentence he would be a bit thick to try the same.

Or was it a joke, you know the kind of bloke who thinks its funny to shout bomb when getting on the plane after 9/11.

Or try and arrest a women and shout "jokes" because he thinks he some kind of fucking comedian 🙄

[PickUpAPepper]

Local radio asked if it was some sort of sick joke. MrMrsJones is right to say it wasn’t just their suggestion and it was not intended as victim blaming. Apparently he claimed it was.
I have had men jump out at me in darkness and then claim it as a joke. Hell, I had a local kid jump on my back in an alley and then claim it was a joke - admittedly only as I started to get the upper hand. It really isn’t funny. Some men are just sick and police, like other professions I could name, need to wake up out of their complacency and remember what they exist for.

[GCAcademic]

I guess suggesting men can help keep women safe is probably sexist or not alarmist enough.

Keep women safe from what, exactly? Oh yes, MEN!

Nice NAMALTing though.

[Thelnebriati]

@CBUK2K Are you claiming that the article you read has been changed? Or is this from two different news sources? Because they often have an in house style.

[Hoardasurass]

Every day we see another man abusing women in more and more ways, whilst we see our safe spaces and protections eradicated.
When 1 group of people are targeted by dehumanising language like as happened with the Jews by the nazis or the houtu/ tutees with the cocroaches(sorry for the spelling am dyslexic) it becomes acceptable to attack and kill them we have seen it time and again yet stonewall and our MPs along with most of the NHS and even the lancet are happy to do this to women by using language like menstrators, cervix haver, birthing people and my absolute favourite bodies with vaginas. All of this these things they claim are to be inclusive but it isn't its just another way to say women don't matter and its OK to strip us of our rights, safety and even bodily autonomy hell rape, sexual assaults, voyeurism and indecent exposure have been effectively decriminalised as we are only bodies with vaginas so who cares right🤬😭

[rrhuth]

@MrMrsJones

Was he actually trying to abduct her, or being a dick and trying to be funny?

Either way he deserves the sentence

Why minimise it by casting doubt on the reported facts? Why take the offender's side?

This was a serious, premeditated offence.