[quote]Sifu wrote:
Here is an example of the wonderful response time of police answering 999 calls in the UK. They are called to deal with a man who has a prior conviction for murder and they don’t respond. This is why alowing people in Brtain to own guns for self defense would make a difference. In many parts of America a woman in those circumstances would be able to buy a gun and be able to defend herself. The only thing she would need to call the cops for is to come pick up the perps body.
A grieving family have accused the police of a catalogue of errors over the murder of a mother-of-two by a convicted killer.
Maria Stubbings, 50, was strangled with a dog lead by her ex-boyfriend days after she had called 999 fearing he had broken into her house.
When officers visited her home eight days after the emergency call they were greeted by Marc Chivers, who told them she had gone away.
At that moment her body was just feet away from the front door - hidden in a downstairs toilet by Chivers.
He is believed to have killed her three days earlier.
It was only the day after their call that police finally conducted a search of the house and found Mrs Stubbings’s body under a pile of coats.
Chivers, 42, had previously served 15 years for strangling another former girlfriend.
Mrs Stubbings’s family are furious that, despite the previous murder and his history of violence, police did not fully follow up her complaint against Chivers in the days before her death in Chelmsford, Essex, last December. They are planning to sue Essex police.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating Essex Police’s handling of the case.
Chivers was sentenced to life in prison in September 1993 for strangling his ex-girlfriend in Germany and dumping her body in woodland when in his 20s.
He was deported from Stuttgart to the UK in January 2008 after serving 15 years.
A few months later he met Mrs Stubbings in a park, and the pair embarked on a whirlwind romance.
But their relationship turned sour within a few months, and last July jobless Chivers, from Little Waltham, near Chelmsford, was arrested for assaulting her after a night out.
An argument broke out at her home and Mrs Stubbings fled to a neighbour’s home.
Chivers dragged her back by her hair. In October 2008 he pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court to battery. He was sentenced to serve four months in prison minus time spent on remand.
After he was arrested for attacking Mrs Stubbings, she discovered his murderous past and, fearing for her safety, was given a panic alarm by police.
But her family claim this panic alarm was broken - leaving her with no protection from her aggressive ex-boyfriend.
Once out of jail Chivers is understood to have tried to rekindle their romance.
She called police when she returned home late on December 11 last year to find someone had broken in. She feared it was Chivers.
Essex Police claim they visited her the next day, but despite his previous two convictions did not follow-up with another visit in the days after this.
Her 16-year-old son Richard visited the house to look for her, but Chivers followed him around to make sure he didn’t discover his mother.
s Stubbings made further calls to the police and friends also called the police repeatedly to raise concerns, but no one went to see her until eight days after the original call, when they were sent away by Chivers with the body lying within feet of the front door.
The following day her body was discovered during a police search of the house.
At Chelmsford Crown Court on October 9 Chivers pleaded guilty to murdering Mrs Stubbings between December 15 and 20 2008. Mrs Stubbings, who had been married three times, also has a daughter Celia, 29.
The victim’s younger brother Manuel Fernandez, 41, said: 'They failed miserably. It is a catalogue of serious errors; total neglect. They didn’t even get there a bit too late, they got there four days too late.
'Maria was someone who was known by the police to be at high risk having been attacked previously by a convicted murderer and had gone missing, she had called the police and told them her concerns.
‘They turn up and the murderer is there, her mobile phone is in the house, her car is in the drive, but they don’t realise something is up. It is just ridiculous.’
He added: 'I can’t blame them for her death, but they could have stopped it.
'The fact she could have been helped and that she wasn’t is just awful. I feel like I will never call the police again for anything.
‘There was just too much negligence on their part. In this incident they were just absolutely useless.’
[/quote]
http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?articleId=59614543&channelId=2951&buyerId=newsmeatcom&buid=3281
2-year-old Calif. girl dies in accidental shooting
Police say 2-year-old California girl killed after 8-year-old brother accidentally shot her
Staff
AP News
Sep 23, 2009 23:30 EST
Police say a 2-year-old Northern California girl is dead after her 8-year-old brother accidentally shot her.
Police say the boy was playing with the gun Wednesday afternoon at the family home in Vacaville when it discharged, shooting the toddler in the head.
The girl was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Vacaville police Lt. Craig Courtemanche says the children’s parents were home at the time of the shooting. Both the parents and the boy were being questioned, with investigators hoping to determine how the boy got his hands on the weapon.
The girl’s name has not been released.
and
http://www.examiner-enterprise.com/articles/2009/10/10/news/news358.txt
Accidental Shooting: Incident claims life of 17-year-old
By Tim Hudson E-E County Reporter
Friday, October 9, 2009 12:42 PM CDT
A Bartlesville teen is dead following what police believe was an accidental shooting Thursday evening.
Reports indicate Tyler James Teague, 17, was killed when he was accidentally shot at a residence in Bartlesville.
Teague was reportedly dead at the scene when officers arrived.
According to a press release issued by the Bartlesville Police Department, the BPD Communications Center received an emergency 911 call at 6:44 p.m. Thursday. The caller reportedly stated that there had been an â??accidental shootingâ?? and that his friend was lying on the floor of a garage. The scene was reportedly a residence in the 6200 block of Sawgrass in northeastern Bartlesville.
The BPD Investigation Division later took charge of the scene, although BPD Chief Tom Holland said today the shooting is believed to be accidental.
â??When we left last night, detectives were convinced that it was a tragic accident,â?? Holland told the E-E today. â??Barring any new information, this will be treated as such.â??
Holland said no one else was injured and was not sure exactly how many people were present in the home at the time of the incident.
â??There were several young guys in the garage â?? I get the impression like three or four â?? and there were several people in the house,â?? he said.
â??We had to work with the young man who reported it, he was so frantic,â?? Holland said.
According to Bartlesville Public School District officials, there were to be a couple of adjustments to todayâ??s schedule following the accident.
â??The pep assembly at the high school that was supposed to be at 2:20 p.m. was canceled in lieu of the incident. We are still going ahead with the other homecoming activities,â?? said BPSD community relations coordinator David Austin.
â??We had counselors come in to the high school for students who need to talk to them. Thatâ??s what we typically do for tragic incidents such as this.â??
Witnesses are being interviewed at the Bartlesville Police Department, officials said.
â??It was a long hard night for everyone,â?? Holland said.
