We have to react fast, says The Eliminator
BRITAIN’S deadliest firearms officer said police marksmen who kill are simply ‘doing exactly what they are trained to do’.
Anthony Long, 58, said he did not ‘give any thought at all’ before fatally shooting three dangerous criminals and nor should any of his colleagues.
The retired Scotland Yard officer once dubbed ‘The Eliminator’ said police ‘have to react’ if they feel life is in danger.
And he insisted that marksmen should be treated as ‘witnesses’ not ‘suspects’ by the IPCC.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, he added: ‘We train constantly to deal with this kind of situation. Where I have had to open fire I have not given that any thought at all. And nor should any police officer.
‘When a firearms officer makes the decision to pull the trigger and deliberately shoot someone, it is not an accident, he deliberately intended to do it and hopefully has done it for the right reasons.
‘So I’m not quite sure how David Cameron hopes to go about changes of law. It seems to me the laws are quite adequate. The problem is the way police actions are interpreted by the IPCC who seem absolutely determined to get a conviction to prove their own worth.’
In July Mr Long – who was commended seven times in his 33 years at Scotland Yard – was cleared by an Old Bailey jury of murdering gangster Azelle Rodney. The shooting, which took place ten years earlier, was the third time he had used lethal force.
He shot a knife-wielding maniac to save a young girl’s life during a 1985 siege. The man ended up surviving the shooting, but less than two years later Mr Long killed two armed robbers. Rodney was his third fatal shooting, making him the officer in Britain with the highest kill count.
Describing highly sensitive police operations, Mr Long said: ‘If you perceive that somebody’s life is in danger you have to react in accordance with your training.
‘You spend hours and hours, not just in a range shooting weapons but in tactical training facilities against live roleplayers.’ He added: ‘The public do not need to be concerned that we do not train for it.’