Queen's Guard points gun at man


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Queen's Guard points gun at man

 

Soldier waves bayonet under nose of man who was shouting at police officer outside Buckingham Palace

 

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A member of the largely ceremonial Queen's Guard pointed his bayonet-tipped rifle at a man who was haranguing a police officer outside Buckingham Palace. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP-Getty

 

A Queen's Guard pointed his bayonet-tipped rifle at a member of the public outside Buckingham Palace when an argument erupted with a police officer, it has emerged.

The soldier left his post to intervene when the man refused to stop shouting at the officer outside the palace gates on Friday.

A photograph published in the Sun on Sunday shows the guard pointing his bayonet-fixed rifle towards the man's face while standing next to the police officer.

A Metropolitan police spokesman said: "Police were made aware of a disturbance at the north-centre gate of Buckingham Palace at approximately 5.50pm on Friday April 4.

"Officers from Royalty Protection spoke to a man and he was given words of advice and there were no arrests."

The Queen's Guard are a contingents of soldiers charged with guarding the Palace but carry a largely ceremonial role.

The guard involved is not believed to be facing any action over the incident. An army spokesman said: "We are aware of an incident outside Buckingham Palace on Friday and while no one came to any harm and there were no arrests, we are very clear that the Metropolitan police lead on royal security arrangements including outside the palace itself."

 

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Why should there be any reason to consider punishment for the service men (and women) for doing their job?

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Trust me, these guys are trained and trained very well.  Many nations have ceremonial dress that looks "obscure" but it doesn't make the wearer any less of a threat.  Take the  Vatican Swiss Guard, they are reported to be double-hard.

 

Now, should there be any repercussions?  Hell no - the guardsman was doing his job and  fulfilling his role.  The problem is, we have made that role so ceremonial in nature that the public forget that these are trained, armed soldiers.  There is also this self-entitled "I will do what I please because I can" attitude.

 

I think it's bloody good that this guardsman reminded people that they are soldiers and not just pictures on postcards.

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For intervening I don't think the guard should be charged.  In fact, I applaud him.  I am a bit surprised he's not in trouble for leaving his post, though.

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All the tourists will start doing this now for the "get a reaction from the palace guard for a photo" game.

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Pointing a gun at a man because of an argument....? I guess headphones and what looks like a large juice box can be dangerous. Let the cop do his job.

 

 

Now I want a juice box.

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Pointing a gun at a man because of an argument....?

Guarding VIP's is serious business. Such a disturbamce can be staged to give attackers an opening.

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Why should there be any reason to consider punishment for the service men (and women) for doing their job?

It's not his job, military personnel are also not allowed to perform police duties, this was outside his duty and responsibility as long as there was no threat on the castle security.

Trust me, these guys are trained and trained very well.  Many nations have ceremonial dress that looks "obscure" but it doesn't make the wearer any less of a threat.  Take the  Vatican Swiss Guard, they are reported to be double-hard.

 

Now, should there be any repercussions?  Hell no - the guardsman was doing his job and  fulfilling his role.  The problem is, we have made that role so ceremonial in nature that the public forget that these are trained, armed soldiers.  There is also this self-entitled "I will do what I please because I can" attitude.

 

I think it's bloody good that this guardsman reminded people that they are soldiers and not just pictures on postcards.

Depends on which Vatican guard you mean, the ones that are stationed for looks armed with halberds, or the ones you can't see ;) though the halberd guys are trained in their use, it's not really a modern weapon ;)

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So a guard is questioned for actually guarding? What's wrong with this picture?

He wasn't guarding, what threat was a man arguing with a police officer? ,eat while he left his post to do "police" duties he's not allowed to.

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