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Armed police 'fire guns by mistake'
02/06/2008
The number of shots fired by officers by mistake is higher than those done on purpose, new investigations have revealed.
Between January 2006 and March 2008 police in the UK opened fire 46 times by mistake and only 18 times when they were supposed to, a report from the Daily Mirror has said.
All officers in Northern Ireland carry weapons, and a third of all accidents happened in the province, the statistics show.
During the period, two officers have been hit by gunshots and one civilian police worker has been injured.
Gill Marshall-Andrews told the newspaper: "Even highly-trained police are prone to accidents and mistakes which can have dreadful consequences.
"It's lucky no officer has been killed by a colleague yet."
In 2005, police officers pressured the government to allow more of them to carry firearms in response to the fatal injuries caused by the shooting of unarmed officer Sharon Beshenivsky.
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Between January 2006 and March 2008 police in the UK opened fire 46 times by mistake and only 18 times when they were supposed to, a report from the Daily Mirror has said.
All officers in Northern Ireland carry weapons, and a third of all accidents happened in the province, the statistics show.
During the period, two officers have been hit by gunshots and one civilian police worker has been injured.
Gill Marshall-Andrews told the newspaper: "Even highly-trained police are prone to accidents and mistakes which can have dreadful consequences.
"It's lucky no officer has been killed by a colleague yet."
In 2005, police officers pressured the government to allow more of them to carry firearms in response to the fatal injuries caused by the shooting of unarmed officer Sharon Beshenivsky.
Contact us for legal advice
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