OMG! Way to whoop ass, granny!

That was epic. I suspect the thieves were so taken aback they had no idea what to do about her.

AWESOME!!!!!

I wonder if that's really an old lady. Whoever it was, good for them. Of course it happened in the UK. If it happened in the U.S.A. the jewel thieves would sue the old lady for assault and battery and win, not even being charged with attempted robbery.

Let's see, she risked her life for other people's jewels that weren't even at risk? There are plenty of criminals that would have shot her and not thought twice-she's lucky this band of incompetent boobs wasn't among them.

Patrick, they'd be much more likely to win over there. In fact, isn't it illegal to defend yourself against theives there? I'm pretty sure Amy blogged something about that and Britain a while ago. That was a house, though.

Yay, SuperGran! (Apparently, that's what the news media over there, and here, are calling her) And, like Amy, I suspect that will be me in my dotage. Couple, three years from now!

o.O

There are plenty of criminals that would have shot her and not thought twice-she's lucky this band of incompetent boobs wasn't among them.

She probably felt that she'd be safe, upon seeing their mopeds.

I hope she at least got a watch out of it.
Though to me the most striking part is after her running up and hitting them you see a cop casually strolling towards the fracas. Even after other bystanders rush to help, the cop is slowly strolling in.

In America she would be sued, and handbags would have weight limits and a 30 day waiting period.

I've got to see "Snatch" again.

London? Yes London. You know- fish, chips, cup o' tea, bad food, worse weather, Mary Fuckin Poppins. London.

I'm surprised she wasn't arrested on the spot for causing a disturbance.

Momof4, really? I don't know much about English law. I just remember hearing about a man in Texas who killed two illegals who were stealing his neighbor's television...only to meet with liberal outrage. Not for those who were in this country illegally. Not for the fact that they broke into someone's house and stealing a television.

But because the neighbor killed them.

My thought is, "You go, dude!"

What people never seem to consider is that it's not about a television, stereo or whatever it is they're helping themselves to. It's about the sanctity of the home. Once someone breaks in, even if they leave empty handed, they've already stolen from you. They've taken your right to feel safe in your own home.

So, let's all feel bad for the poor illegals who got killed after trespassing, violating the most sacred of personal spaces, and taking something that didn't belong to them.

Good news, by the way. The Patriot Act was blocked by the Tea Party. WTG, Tea Partiers! Maybe you're not totally corrupt, misleading, dishonest dufuses after all!

Sorry, I have liberal self-righteous outrage on the brain today. This incident is three years old, but it generates as much buzz as if it happened yesterday.

Perhaps you've all seen it. It seems that 15-year-old dumbass Shelwanda Riley of Ft. Pierce,
Florida (consistently one of the top 25 most violent cities in the country) was out past curfew.

A woman had called 911 reporting a couple wandering through the neighborhood, disappearing, then returning, this time with white garbage bags. Responding to the call, police officer Dan Gilroy came by, and encountered Shelwanda wearing clothing with the tags still attached and carrying a white garbage filled with new clothing, also still with the tags.

Shelwanda refused to answer direct basic questions (this is according to Dan Gilroy) and attempted to kick him.

Gilroy forcibly pulled the struggling Shelwanda to the front of his car and activated his video camera. And the camera picks up here.

Abuse-of-power.org has seized upon this video, replaying in slow-mo the supposedly brutal scenes, and everyone's shrieking outrage about police brutality.

"Waaah! He punched her! He pepper-sprayed her!"

Uh, yeah, after the stupid thug bit him! If she bit me, I'd have punched her, too. As you might guess, I don't see it this way at all...I saw a juvenile delinquent resisting arrest who made a lot of trouble for herself and deservedly got a face full of pepper-spray.

As for Gilroy, I saw him acting with professionalism, courtesy, patience and restraint...none of which Shelwanda deserved.

(The outcome? Shelwanda was charged with resisting arrest and felony battery. The charges were dropped when she agreed to enter a diversion program. 25 hours of community service and two essays about respecting curfew and cooperating with the police.

Dan Gilroy was investigated and exonerated of any wrong-doing.)

See the comments section on this video! People are talking about it like it happened yesterday!

Bravo to the brave woman!

The only thing is, if any of the criminals turned out to be non-white then she'll likely be charged with a hate crime. No seriously, it's the UK, she will. :-(

Let's see, she risked her life for other people's jewels that weren't even at risk? There are plenty of criminals that would have shot her and not thought twice-she's lucky this band of incompetent boobs wasn't among them.

Posted by: momof4 at February 9, 2011 6:00 AM
_____________________

Um, you don't know much about British gun laws, do you? It's VERY difficult to get handguns, especially.

Of course, the thieves could have used their sledgehammers against her. But I don't know if it's really so common for the elderly to get mugged that way in England - even if the elderly attack first!

This is what happened a few months ago when a lol got hold of the 2nd Amendment:

[A Chicago] neighborhood allowed itself to be terrorized by a pre-teen who apparently led a gang of other teens. they tried to set her house on fire, they cursed her out, she called the police and nobody came and apparently this little group of URBAN TERRORISTS were terrorizing the entire neighborhood... and he's only 12. Of course the "grandmother" of the 12 year old says he and his friends were ....just. walking. by.... AT 11PM AT NIGHT. Notice they didn't say the mother or father, but the GRANDMOTHER. I would be embarrassed to admit my child ran the streets at night.

Neighbors said an elderly woman was fed up with constant harassment from a 12-year-old boy, so she took a gun and shot the child after he and his friends threw bricks into her home.

The link really is worth a read, particularly the comments. Note who the author and audience are.

I know about Britain's handgun laws Lenona. I also know they have an epidemic of handgun crime going on and have since basically outlawing them for most of their citizens. You'll note, whether the US, Britain, or Somalia, it's not particularly difficult or expensive for a criminal to get a gun, illegally.

Always loved the name Shelwanda...

I know about Britain's handgun laws Lenona. I also know they have an epidemic of handgun crime going on and have since basically outlawing them for most of their citizens.
_____________________

Would you please give a bit of proof that the problem is anywhere as bad, per capita, as in the U.S.?

That is, maybe things have changed in the last 12 years or so, but I had the impression there was a reason George Harrison's would-be killer didn't have a gun. (Unlike Mark you-know-who....)

I DO know that the U.K. does not have anything like the N.R.A., anyway.

http://newsbusters.org/node/12267

For starters. Crime rose after the 1997 ban. Gun crime rose, I should say.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_wit_fir_percap-crime-murders-firearms-per-capita

Shows nicely that many coun tries with no gun bans have lower gun murder rates than Britain.

And, since you went ahead and said you knew Britain had nothing like the NRA:

www.nra.org.uk

And from wikipedia:

"shooting sports were popular in the late 19th and early 20th Century, especially fullbore rifle events sponsored by the military and NRA to improve the general standard of marksmanship under the auspices of Defence of the Realm. Many modern civilian rifle clubs trace their ancestry to Home Guard and military clubs which over time developed into civilian clubs as the home guard units were disbanded and the reserve forces shrunk."

You'll notice the "many civilian rifle clubs" and there are many.

Ok, fine. I just assumed the Brit I heard from knew what he was talking about.

What the hell is going on there in England? Criminals are not afraid to bash their way into a jewelry shop in broad daylight? Unreal.

>>Ok, fine. I just assumed the Brit I heard from knew what he was talking about.

No need to be too hard on your Brit contact, lenona!

The NRA in mainland UK has nothing like the popular bumper sticker profile it has here! Most ordinary Brits would be very surprised indeed to discover it even existed.

>>What the hell is going on there in England? Criminals are not afraid to bash their way into a jewelry shop in broad daylight? Unreal.

kishke,
I think criminal stupidity - rather than lack of fear - explains this one. Still, it's gotta be one of the most entertaining true crime clips ever posted!

So, given that we're talking about England, has the grandmother been prosecuted yet?

"What the hell is going on there in England? Criminals are not afraid to bash their way into a jewelry shop in broad daylight?"

Not really surprising since their cops carry sticks, not guns! Only recently have they started to consider that that might not be the best idea.