Row af ter PC stabbed while armed units were held back
Teenager is charged over alleged knife attack at a college campus
‘We take officer safety seriously’
POLICE chiefs have been accused of putting young officers at risk after a constable in his 20s was stabbed in a knife attack.
The Scottish Police Federation claimed that trained armed officers had been within reach but were not sent to the incident at Edinburgh College yesterday.
The organisation, which represents rank and file officers, said that this ‘defies logic’.
In yesterday’s incident a man, thought to be a student, allegedly pulled a blade in a communal area of the college’s Granton Campus at around 9.10am.
The constable, in his 20s, was wearing a stab vest at the time. He was treated at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for a non-life threatening injury.
Police Scotland confirmed last night that a 19-year-old man had been charged in connection with the alleged attack, which it described as an ‘isolated incident’.
But SPF general secretary Calum Steele said: ‘Sending unarmed officers to tackle someone who is armed defies logic, especially when there were a number of armed response officers in the periphery who were not deployed.
‘If a member of the public calls police reporting an incident involving someone with a weapon, they should quite rightly expect officers to attend who have the capability to deal with that situation.
‘I expect they would be horrified to find out that this wasn’t the case. It is the responsibility of the police to ensure that their officers are provided with every opportunity to return home safely at the end of their shift.’
The federation has called for all officers to be routinely armed with tasers.
SPF chairman Andrea MacDonald said: ‘I would like to commend the bravery of all of the police officers who attended this incident.
‘However, while all details are still to emerge, once again it appears that we have Scottish police officers not suitably equipped to deal with an incident where an individual is armed.’
Yesterday, Edinburgh College student Rory Barraclough, 20, said: ‘It (the alleged attack) was in the main communal area. I’m surprised this happened, you don’t expect this. I’m shocked.’
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘Police have arrested and charged a 19-year-old man in connection with an incident which took place within the grounds of an Edinburgh College campus.
‘Officers were called around 9.10am following a report of concern for a man.
‘Around 9.30am a male police constable in his twenties, who was among those deployed to respond to this incident, sustained a non life-threatening injury to his back.’
In a statement, Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said: ‘We continually keep officer safety under review and regular liaison takes place with staff associations around this issue. We will investigate this incident to see if there is anything to be learned from it.
‘The officer’s injuries are thankfully not life-threatening and I intend to visit him tomorrow.’
Superintendent Richard Thomas said: ‘We assess the potential risk when deploying officers based on the available information and intelligence provided at the time of a call.
‘Any response will be proportionate to the information available. We take officer safety seriously and do all we can to keep officers safe.’
A FEMALE police officer suffered burns after being hit by a firework thrown at her by yobs. She was treated then released from hospital after the incident in the Muirhouse area on bonfire night.
Fire crews responded to around 330 incidents involving bonfires on Sunday.
Missiles were thrown at firefighters at 11 of the call-outs, fire chiefs have said.