Armed Police Outside Village Primary School

Earlier this week, armed police from the West Yorkshire firearms unit were
reportedly stationed outside a primary school in the small village of Drighlington,
West Yorkshire and were seen on patrol around the nearby streets.

According to local witnesses, one of the armed officers had told parents that
they were stationed there in connection with the manhunt taking place in
Northumberland, many miles north of this location. Although unverified at this time,
it would suggest a local link or specific mention of someone in the village for the
police to have sent in an armed unit.

A local resident who has previously been involved in anti militarist campaigning
told this reporter that several police with heckler and koch machine guns visible
were seen patrolling the streets, alarming locals who had no idea what was going on.
'it's frightening to see anyone holding a gun in real life, police or otherwise'
they said.

The use of armed police and those with 'tazer' weapons seems to be a more common
sight these days, with little public discussion of the effectiveness of using such
tactics and whether or not they create a wider atmosphere of fear or help to calm
others in the community.

In the specific example cited above, not knowing why the police were deployed in
their area coupled with media hysteria surrounding the manhunt certainly lead to a
state of alarm in the community with little visible benefit.

Any updates or verifications to this story will be posted to this site.

Contact email: imc-northern@lists.indymedia.org