UK & World News
- 24 April 2012, 19:58
Riots: Jury Sees Police Helicopter 'Shot At'
A jury has been shown the moment a police helicopter was allegedly fired at from the ground during last summers riots in Birmingham.
The prosecution claims that black and white footage filmed from the West Midlands force's helicopter showed one defendant, Tyrone Laidley, from the Nechells area of the city, holding a firearm up in the air.
"We say it was fired," said Andrew Lockhart QC, "as you can see the muzzle flash from the weapon."
Mr Laidley, five other men and two youths are accused of riot, violent disorder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and reckless arson.
The helicopter was targeted after a gang of around 30 were dispersing after the Barton Arms pub was set on fire in Newtown, Birmingham, on August 9 last year, said the prosecution.
Mr Lockhart said the case was not about "large scale looting" but the aim of the defendants, he said, was to "lure" a "large number of police officers onto the streets where they could be attacked".
Following the fire, large numbers of police riot vans arrived at the scene and this, said Mr Lockhart, was "exactly what had been anticipated".
Wayne Collins, from Luton, Tyrone Laidley, Francis Nicholas, Renardo Farrell, Jermaine Lewis, all from the West Midlands, Joyah Campbell, of no fixed address and two teenagers who cannot be named, all deny the charges.
The trial continues and is likely to last six weeks.
what do you think?
Mike Eaton
So eight people held one handgun and tried to shoot a helicopter down with it! who the CPS employing now? Hans Christian Anderson? Well thats a fairy story if ever there was one, knowing the amount of guns available in Birmingham if they'd wanted to soot the thing down they'd have enough firepower to shoot every helicopter in the UK down! eight of 'em eh? theres more chance of 'em shooting themselves in the fracas over who held the gun than anything else. Come on Mr Plod you'll have to do better than that!
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MarshaMajor
Mike you made me laugh very loudly. I second everything that you say. The police are so innocent!!
MarshaMajor
By the way Keith where is sootyville?
John Henderson
You should try reading the article again Mike - where does it say that eight people were actually holding the handgun ? Eight were there, one holding the gun, seven others in the support group. If you cannot understand what is being said it is better to remain silent and not make yourself sound stupid.
Simon Trammer
Where did it say they were trying to "shoot it down". All I can see is that they "shot at" the helicopter which is TRUE. It's about time our police were allowed to shoot back. You "my friend" either can't read or you're an idiot.
andrew
The police should have shot back at em. Oooops sorry its not a crime is it to carry a gun let alone fire it. The crime is when one of the scrum bags are shot in retaliation by the police. Hope they are locked up for attempted murder and all their familys benefits stopped indeffinatley.
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Simon Trammer
6 months hard labour (in chains), followed by 20 years imprisonment (like the USA do). In the case of the underage ones that couldn't be named "for legal reasons" - Their parents should be held responsible for the actions of their CHILDREN. Come to think about it - if they weren't born here, then it's time their entire family went home too. We don't need them here.
Brian Thwaites
Looks to me as if the bloke was shouting bang bang if there had been a muzle flash I couldnt see it and it looks like they were using the FLIR (thermal imaging camera). if there had been a shot it would have been VERY obvious a muzzle flash is very hot, several thousand degrees in fact even an air pistol discharge is hotter than you might expect and there would have been a ball of white around his hands is a gun of any.kind had ben fired. The early footage clearly shows that the helicopter was at least 200 -300 hundred feet high. It takes a particularly skilled marksman to hit any target with a pistol at that distance particularly a moving target such as a helicopter at night. Most so called police marksmen couldn't do it. Some imbecile with no training with a pistol has no chance at all. However if it is proven that he did in fact fire at the helicopter what ever type of gun then he should get the maximum penalty the law allows with no remission of sentence. firing or pretending to fire at a helicopter that close to the ground could have potentially fatal results, not only for the occupants of the helicopter but those on the ground. It is a good thing that the pilot kept his head and a lucky thing the helicopter didn't go down. Lock them up and lose the key.
Adrian Wagstaff
It is very difficult from our public view of this image to tell if it is one, two or even three or four people each carrying a pistol. It could well be two people with one pistol each? I hope they had bullet proof helicopter seats because I have often read of soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc, being hit from underneath their seat by bullets. Oh yeah, Vietnam, too and Korea. I'll watch it again but I'm almost certain I saw two pistols.
jonny english
Tyrone, now what sort of person has a name like that?
jimmyjedi1979
What a load of rubbish- government propaganda.
Mike Drouin
4:28pm on 24/4/2012
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