So once again Sussex Police have shot themselves in the foot, which is unsurprising given the level of competence in this discredited force. The big mistake with arming the police is that they are not capable of using cap guns, let alone real firearms.

Whenever a civilian is wounded or killed by a police shooter (I refuse to give them the accolade of marksmen) nobody is found to be culpable for the incident.

In the armed services, a soldier is trained in the use of firearms from within a few days of enlistment. Correct and safe handling procedures are drilled into the soldier from the very first day he touches a weapon. If a soldier should discharge a weapon without authority, it is deemed negligence and he is summarily punished severely.

In all the police services in UK it seems they are allowed to discharge a weapon accidentally. There is no such thing as an accidental discharge of a firearm. It is negligence, pure and simple. Therefore, if someone should negligently discharge a firearm which results in the wounding or death of a civilian, why isn't somebody culpable?

Until the police service accepts it operates within the law and not above it, and judges also accept this, we will continue to see accidents that result in wounding or death of civilians and nobody will be found culpable.

-Rod Ackers, Portslade