Whenever I was called to a job involving someone armed with a firearm, machete, or other weapon of lethal force, I used to be fairly relaxed.
"Are you wearing PPE?" Control room ask.
"Affirmative."
You have time to stop, put on your body armour or tighten it up, give your PAVA gas a shake and think about how you're going to approach the address, what cover you will use to hide from harm, and how you and your colleagues may subdue the offender.
Inevitably, on arrival, the weapon is nowhere to be seen or is thrown down quickly.
It's the "routine calls" that get you.
PC Lisa Bates lost a finger and sustained a fractured skull in the attack
To guard against this type of incident, you would have to train officers to risk-assess like soldiers in hostile territory. To assume every house, every car, contains...
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