UK: Plastic bullets: the safer alternative?. Baton rounds - or plastic bullets - have been available to police forces in England and Wales since June 2001 as an alternative to live ammunition.
The authorities have been under pressure to employ non-lethal methods when responding to incidents where people may be armed with knives, swords and weapons other than firearms.
In July 2001, 37-year-old Andrew Kernan was shot dead by police marksmen in Liverpool when he refused to put down a Samurai sword. [FirearmNews.com]
I'm not exactly a fan of the British authorities, but in the case mentioned the marksmen did the right thing. The Liverpool police ought to arrange a demonstration of what a sword can do, since people seem to have forgotten. At close range, the katana is a good deal more dangerous than a pistol--nobody ever got cut in half with a pistol!
9:34:05 AM 
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