# If someone beheaded a soldier of your country and waited 20 minutes surrounded by a crowd...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-beheaded-a-soldier-of-your-country-and-waited-20-minutes-surrounded-by-a-crowd/659294>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 25, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-beheaded-a-soldier-of-your-country-and-waited-20-minutes-surrounded-by-a-crowd/659294 "2013-05-25T04:55:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 8

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**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2013, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-beheaded-a-soldier-of-your-country-and-waited-20-minutes-surrounded-by-a-crowd/659294/141 "2013-05-29T04:56:24Z")

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> [@Disposable Hero](#):
>
> Fine, if the blog isn’t up to your standards then read the books, ‘Wasting Police Time’, ‘Wasting More Police Time’ by David Copperfield and ‘Perverting The Course Of Justice’ by Inspector Gadget. The debate isn’t as clear-cut as you make it out to be, certainly not from ‘on the ground’ officers.
> 
> And it would at least have given the two female officers who were recently shot dead by a wanted criminal who lured them into an ambush a fighting chance. He probably wouldn’t have done it in the first place if he had known the officers turning up would be armed.

We’ll note that a police officer was [gunned down in Kentucky](http://abcnews.go.com/US/kentucky-cop-killed-premeditated-ambush/story?id=19265234). He had a gun–never had a chance to draw it. So here’s a tragic case of precisely what you were talking about and having a gun made absolutely no difference.

In reference to the OP, I would have gotten away, warned folks about the perps, and called the cops.

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**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-beheaded-a-soldier-of-your-country-and-waited-20-minutes-surrounded-by-a-crowd/659294/142 "2013-05-29T20:20:05Z")

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I’m glad police in the Republic Of Ireland aren’t routinely armed and it would be nice if there came a time when the PSNI weren’t routinely armed either.

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**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-beheaded-a-soldier-of-your-country-and-waited-20-minutes-surrounded-by-a-crowd/659294/143 "2013-05-31T10:24:36Z")

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> [@Blue\_Mood](#):
>
> Wow - I feel bad that her brave actions could be construed this way. (Not a slight against you, but that if you’ve thought it probably others have as well.) After ascertaining that he was beyond help, she was providing comfort as **nicole1912** said, not wanting him to be alone when he died (although he was presumably dead already). She and her daughter also wanted to shield him from his slayers, who are the ones who wanted to take photos.
> 
> Also, while this was going on, another woman was talking to the other perpetrator, trying to keep him calm until police arrived. Three calm, brave, heroic women.

Thank you for clearing that up. I’m happy to be wrong.

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