Every right minded person will be shocked and appalled at the violence delivered in Hainault early yesterday morning, when an attacker armed with a sword targetted innocent people on their way to work and school. My thoughts are with the family and friends of the teenager who died, and those who have been injured.
Amongst the injured were two unarmed police officers, who with colleagues ran towards the danger, armed with only taser and baton. Armed police were still some distance away when they challenged and tasered the suspect in a driveway, just 22 minutes after the original call, and 10 minutes since they arrived on scene. A fantastic response from the Metropolitan Police.
The police come in for a lot of criticism from all sectors these days, public, press and of course politicians, who love to use them as a handy punchbag to deflect from their own failings.
Major events like these get lots of coverage, of course - yet across the country underpaid, overworked and underappreciated police officers are out there all day every day protecting the public and undertaking courageous acts, usually without recognition.
Yesterday these police officers without a second thought for their own safety ran towards a killer armed with a sword, putting themselves in between the public and the attacker. They are heroes and I salute them.
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