Firearms Officer Wins Sex Discrimination Case Because Her Firearm Was Too Big For Her.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10643338/Petite-firearms-officer-wins-sex-discrimination-case-because-gun-was-too-big-for-her-hands.html

Well this just about takes the biscuit, why isn't there certain qualifications a person should reach before being accepted in certain positions in the police service?

[emmie]

perhaps that has more to do with health and safety than whether the policeman or woman can swim, aren't there rules, regulations on what can be done in regards to rescuing individuals from water. I did read that a little while ago, not sure where now.

[emmie]

i remember this case, doesn't say much for humanity does it

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7006412.stm

[EDDIE51]

The 'power' of a gun is mainly down to size and weight needed to handle the kickback from the explosive force of the charge and the force of the bullet being fired . So I am afraid that in the world of hand guns a smaller gun really is less lethal with less penetration and stopping power, therefore a smaller gun would leave a police officer at a significant disadvantage against a well armed opponent.
So giving a female officer a smaller gun is just not viable , the same would apply if the officer was male but of small stature with smaller than average hands. It is a fact that a smaller / lighter gun IS less lethal , it has to have smaller calibre ammunition and a lesser amount of propellent (the explosive charge) . You can't change the laws of physics ! In this case the law that action and reaction are equal and opposite. If you did put larger ammunition and propellent in a smaller gun the the lower weight would not absorb the 'kickback' as effectively the weapon would be inaccurate even if the force of firing did not cause it to explode in the firers hand!. The '45s' of the 'wild west' had a huge bullet of 0.45 inch dia , hence the name, but they were notoriously inaccurate and frequently exploded or broke the wrist/arm of the firer.

[Kromovaracun]

Unrelated sp, but do you remember Victoria Wood's homage to Anne Widdecombe?

[sp1814]

kromovaracun

Indeed - it was from a Christmas special back in the 90s (I'm a major fan of Ms Wood and have often wondered why she's not a Dame...)

[pixie373]

Eddie, a small handgun would still be enough to stop a criminal in their tracks? It isn't necessary to blow their heads off. And using a weapon you can easily handle and aim, has to be helpful, surely?

[emmie]

as others have pointed out the weapon she was asked to use can be adjusted to fit a smaller grip, its not a problem if that is the case, and any weapon can kill someone.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

With your hatred attitude towards people who voice their own opinions, you to me are not a fair representation of a gay man, only a hateful gay man who does more harm than good for most of the perfectly lovely gay people that I have ever met.

[sp1814]

AOG

Your opinion is Irrelevent to me. Honest.

[sp1814]

And likewise, I've met plenty of older white people over the years and am happy that you are in no way representative of them.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

/// And likewise, I've met plenty of older white people over the years and am happy that you are in no way representative of them. ///

That can only be a good thing as far as I am concerned.

[EDDIE51]

pixie, the type of weapon that the police use needs to be so powerful that it will put a round straight through any body armour and still have enough force to instantly knock the opponent off his feet and disable him. It is not nice subject to talk about but a police officer needs to be sure that he/she will kill or at least disable the opponent with the first shot, if the opponent gets a chance to return fire the officer is almost certainly dead, it is kill or be killed, you have to kill them before they kill you. A smaller lighter gun just does not have the stopping power, giving a officer such a weapon is a death sentence in the worst situation where a determined and well armed opponent is out to kill them. Such situations are thankfully very rare but they do happen.

[EDDIE51]

By the way the police ALWAYS shoot to kill it is the only way to stay live alive in the worse case situation. They normally only have a fraction of a second to get their shot off, an officer who had difficulty if handling the gun would be slower and far more likely to be killed.

[barney15c]

they'll be wanting pearl handles and zarovski crystals on them next....

[RandyMarsh]

So, we use some sort of hand size ratio chart when choosing police officers.

Or give them an M9 instead?

G17 has a massive clip, do the police need a weapon with 17 rounds?

[LazyGun]

The dispute eddie centres around the size of the grip of the Glock, which is designed to be adjustable. No one is saying that these women failed the test because they could not handle the kickback.

And in those circumstances, why should we not have an expectation that those in charge of inventory will be able to offer such customization - oh, and be able to offer protective gear that fits properly, whilst we are at it.

They were not calling for a smaller calibre gun, just an adjustable grip.

[LazyGun]

And Randy makes a valid point. No need for a double sized clip as standard. The average number of rounds fired in anger by police officers is 2-3 rounds.

[emmie]

shame the two women police officers killed a while ago didn't have guns, maybe one or both would have survived. or better body armour.