A UK man was arrested recently after officers from the Greater Manchester Police Department mistook a life-size Lara Croft figure for an armed man.
As reported by the Daily Mail, David Williams, 42, owns a computer shop and received the statue of the Tomb Raider heroine as a promotional item. Deciding to sell it on Ebay, he took Lara home.
Coincidentally, he called police around midnight to report some harassing phone calls. When officers arrived, Williams didn't answer the door. Peering in the window, the officers caught the silhouette of Lara holding a pistol. They cordoned off the street, burst through the back door of the home and held Williams at gunpoint. Of the incident, Williams said:
It would have been laughable if it hadn't been so terrifying. One of the police held a gun and yelled, 'Where's the weapon, where's the weapon?'
I didn't have a clue what was going on, I assumed they'd got the wrong house. I couldn't believe it when I realised they'd mistaken a Lara Croft dummy for someone with a gun.
For his part, Williams was arrested, held for 13 hours, and charged with a firearms offense. The newspaper account doesn't explain whether the charge stemmed from Lara's fake gun or something else the police may have found in the home. The Lara Croft figure was confiscated as evidence.
Williams is considering a lawsuit.
GP: Perhaps Manchester's high level of recent violence has made police edgy. GamePolitics readers will no doubt recall last year's controversy over the depiction of Manchester Cathedral as a level in PlayStation 3 first-person shooter Resistance: Fall of Man.
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Merhaba
This post makes no sense to me
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Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Gallagher can araç kiralama say all he wants, but I strongly rent a car believe it's due to his crappy leadership and E3 being a joke. ESA's Board of Directors need to find a way to get out rent a car of this horrid contract with this Bush cronie before there's no one left on the Board.
Btw, I think Atari and Midway will drop out too, but mostly travesti because these guys have done nothing ttnet vitamin or little and need to start saving costs.
YES.
Now I don't have to get off my ass for the important shit anymore!
Whats next, ordering pizza from Xbox live?
Wait... I think that sounds like a good idea.
But I think voting should MAKE you get off your ass, and see outside or a second while you go vote. I mean, your picking the president of the United States of America for God's Sake... least you can do is drive down there and punch out a card.
SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
TheUK UK has a higher crime rates then the US
To be fair theUK
The situation would have handle differently in theUSA
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Yep. I feel sooo safe knowing that this is the level of intelligence displayed by most police over here in the US.
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Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
I am a bit confused here, in the UK is it normal for men have DD's?
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
so they arrested him for making them look like idiots?
they do that so well on their own!
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
This is an old, old story, dug up by the daily mail to drum up some interest in the game/violence malarky. I saw this in the news over a year ago - same problem, same statue, same guy arrested.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
I respect the work of GamePolitics very much. But reading this story i was like "Hmmm I have read this before".
And so I did. This story is a article from (i qoute)
James Tozer
Last updated at 18:57 15 May 2007
.... so actually this is old news.
Once again, I like your work and efforts very much... but there should be a stricter look on publication dates if you ask me.
cheers
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
If the officers didnt screw up, this would have been a pretty funny story. Even in england, this one would be an urban legend.
If that happen in the states, you better believe the guy would sue. Hell, he'd have the NRA helping him in the case! Regardless, I think the police owe the guy:
A) A new door and door frame
B) Anything damaged and destroyed.
C) His Lara Croft dummy back.
D) His record cleared of this icident.
E) And most importantly, a public apology.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
I'm sure he'll get alot more for that statue now ><
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
insanity sweet insanity
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
The real reason he was arrested was so that they could confiscate the statue and keep it for themselves!
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
This is why we can't have nice things.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
GP: Perhaps Manchester's high level of recent violence has made police edgy.
According to the dates on the News articles your assuming that the police were 'edgy' a full month before the article you have mentioned.
Also i would assume a year on he would have finished considering a lawsuit.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
That's nothing, one time I couldn't find my key before a philosophy exam so I slid a wooden bar in our slidey door to lock the house, and when I got back I climbed my balcony to get in. Some idiot called a B and A and the cops came in and arrested me for possession because they found my medicinal marijuana stash.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Officer 1: Oh hell, how can we save face for this screw up?
Officer 2: Save face AND get our hands on that awesome statue!
Officer 1: Trump up a firearms offense?
Officer 2: Brilliant!
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
_ eh _ what ??
I don't know what is more tragic or funny here ? The man actually being arrested or the officers being mistaken about Laura Croft being a man? If officers in this day and age can't distinguish a man from a woman neymore, then we're in real trouble...
However, he did ring the police, they responded, and he didn't answer the door. The officers then gazed into the window, and probably thought they saw a man (woman) who had hurt him. Then they charged in as they did what they are trained to do in these circumstances.
Did he ever get his Laura Croft card board figure back?
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
That is pathetic. If they observed the silloite of the statue, they would realize it was not moving and their for could not be real. they they arrest him despite he called them to for help on the harrasing calls he was reciving. They should should have also asked who he was and called off the operation when they learned they made a mistake. Besides the stupid yelling of "Where is the weapon!", they probably viooated a lot of there own policies.
I would be scared to live in a place where officers like that were around. Failure to visually identify a threat, false arrest of an individual; hell video game taught me never to due such things. Just by that I think I could be a far better officer they they could. I hope the guy sued them.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
UK has the stupidest police officers, and this isn't the only example.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Ok, this article was funny up until the guy was held for 13 hours for a false claim... Seriously ha this ened with the cops finding the dummy, realizing their mistake and then everyone having a good laugh over such a stupid but reasonable mistake, this would have turned out to be a very funny story... unfortunatly it's juts a rather sad story that just tells of the incompetence of the officers.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
This story's a year old.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
This is like a messed up, flipped version of what goes on over here. In the U.S. a person is convicted of a crime, and then the video games take the heat. In this case a video game character is suspected of criminal behavior and the person gets arrested.
Weird.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
That IS messed up. Thanks for pointing that out. When I get eaten by a hamburger, though, I'm blaming you. :P
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Now hang on a minute - I can remember this, this happened last fucking year. Or something similar, at least.
And we call them the Armed Police - they're far too incompetant and society isn't nearly advanced enough for them to be called SWAT or held on par with them.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Wow, they took the siloutte to be a man holding a firearm? Those policemen are obviously incompetent; they're supposedly in the business is in spotting guns, and they managed to overlook two of the biggest in the business.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
"Oh gosh, we messed up bad! And its YOUR fault! HAH!"
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
How do you mistake Lara Croft for a man?!?!
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
It did say CRAZED gunman, he could have been one of those gunmen that have the bottom 3 pairs of ribs removed and get breast implants. You've gotta admit, thats pretty crazed...
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
I looked at this article on other sites, and they were completely one sided, making fun of the police and everything. I'm glad GamePolitics writes neutral articles, it makes the site look so much nicer.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
The other site was the Daily Mail. A pile of dog poop would improve it.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
This story is full of win! What did David WIlliams ever do about it?
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Good story but unfortunately very old. Check the date of the Daily Mail article: 15 May 2007!
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
So what happened? What did he do?
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
The guy should not be charged at all. Whoever called the police about it should for a false alarm when they could be going after REAL gunmen.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Williams WAS the one who called the cops. He called them for an unrelated incident; but then when the cops showed up to talk to him this shit happened.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
So bascially, the officers are the guys who made the incorrect assumption regarding the statue, and they charge an innocent man for their utter stupidity? Beautiful.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Ha ha, that's good for some morning LOL's. I can totally identify with the officers though, entering a house where you think there's a gun can be fairly scary. Thankfully, the Army's rules of engagement make you feel a lot safer.
---------------------------------
So speak I, some random guy.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
And they only Americans are stupid
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
i can walk down the street in my neighborhood and not feel as if im in danger of being shot harassed or robbed i live in the worst part of town and everyone has a gun its sad that your government doesnt trust you to not kill each other and yes the crime rate in the us is substantial but so is our population and a population to crime ratio we fair better as well as our conviction rate. it seems the uk has a bit of trouble deciding who is guilty and convicting them properly a slap on the wrist for a crazed reckless insane driver in america its called jailtime. but honestly calling the us stupid is asinine every american alive knows that bush is a bleeding retard hemmoraging america's economy into a whole new recession unlike anything weve ever seen. this is something we know but judgeing a nation by its leaders is stupid. if i were to judge your country by the standards set by your leaders what would it say ? that your countries people are impotent useless asinine jackasses. but this is not the case the uk is full of smart capable intelligent people with few exceptions, actually quite a few, but the same can be said of any country includijng my own *cough* the south *cough i am proud to be an american but i am not proud of all americans
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Well, we are certainly stupid enought. Ayuk, ayuk.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
We all is
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
*say
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Wow. I can kinda understand them mistaking the dummy for a gunman. But why are they charging him with a gun offense? It was their mistake.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Probably due to recent firearms laws against realistic looking weapons.
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Re: SWAT Team Mistakes Lara Croft for Crazed Gunman
Lara doesn't exactly look real there. What's more he wasn't holding the gun and they weren't answering a call in any way relating to guns. Would they arrest the owner of a store if they had the same dummy on display?