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Police shootings in the UK

London Calling | 09.08.2001 08:34

From London Calling, the newsletter of London Class War - August/September 2001.

One of the traps we should avoid after Genoa is the "oh it could not happen here" line. The day after Genoa, the Sun enthusiastically trumpeted this. They preferred to ignore the police shooting of a man armed with a replica gun in Brixton only days beforehand (he was shot six times in the back) or shootings in recent years in Hackney (of a man carrying a chair leg) and Sussex (of a man naked in bed). We got this report from Cheshire CW on the recent death of a man allegedly in possession of a samurai sword:

Merseyside Police shot dead a 37 year old schizophrenic man on the evening of 12 July. The mother of the man, Andrew Kernan, had calmed him down and was in his bedroom when police arrived at the family home in Wavertree. They ordered Andrew's mother, Marie, into a police car where she heard him scream, "mum, mum" before two gunshots rang out. At the police station she was told Andrew had 'passed away'. Andrew Kernan had no criminal record and was being treated by a psychiatric team from Broadoak, based at Broadgreen Hospital. The family solicitor Rex Makin said, "A doctor should have been there to negotiate with the police officers whose presence in body armour shielding must have scared the frightened man even more than he was." Greater Manchester Police have been asked by their Merseyside colleagues to carry out an investigation. No prizes on what the findings will be.

Within days, a mobile police incident unit had the word "killers" painted on it. On a wall was written in two foot letters: "12/7/01 MAN KILLED BY POLICE WHAT IS OUR SOCIETY GOING 2 B WHEN THE POLICE BECOME JUDGE + JURY RIP". Needless to say, the graffiti was quickly removed, but it is a question which will exercise the minds of a good many people in the light of the shootings of James Ashley, Harry Stanley and other victims of gun law on our streets.

London Calling

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A Crime Called Schizophrenia

03.11.2002 12:09

The murder of Andrew Kernan epitomises the stance of the British Police force. Andrew Kernan had been a schizophrenic for 15 years and had never harmed a soul. He was a gentle person. On the night of July 12 2001 he became agitated and his mother put him in his room and called Merseycare who sent out two nurses. They failed to help Andrew - although of course Merseycare themselves looked into the events and admonished themselves of any blame. Next came the turn of Merseyside Police. In full protective garments and 7 strong they entered Andrew's room, after first shepherding Marie, his mother, out of the way in a Police car. Why did they remove the one person who understood Andrew the most? And incidentally a possible witness as to what was about to unfold? The seven Police Officers that entered the bedroom somehow allowed Andrew to get out !! Not only that but he had acquired an ornamental sword from the wall - not the samurai sword they would have you believe with its blood curdling connotations. The hunt now uinderway Andrew was located minutes from his home. He has tried to enter a public house but the customers there simply shielded him outside - try to remember that. Merseyside Police armed and eager spotted him outside the public house and called out for him to drop the ornamental sword. He called out for his mum over and over. The next thing that happened was that two shots were fired into his chest and Andrew was dead.
The inquest into Andrew's murder has been adjourned FIVE times and is now due to be heard on 11 December 2002. Please do ALL that you can to highlight this case and lend it your full support. Of course we all know that Manchester Police will carry out a thorough and totally impartial inquiry... maybe a good idea not to hold your breath on that one though.

Monkey#7