BRITISH POLICE RELEASE PICTURE OF STABBING SUSPECT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS

 

Police say it is unusual to release a picture of the suspect early in the investigation.

The London Metropolitan police have unexpectedly released a picture of a man wanted in connection with a stabbing incident at the Tower of London. For some reason, this is something they almost never do, but in this case they obviously thought, "Oh, what the heck, let's just do it this time."

People have been stunned and amazed by this latest development, because the Metropolitan Police's main priority whenever someone is chivved to death on the streets of London is to prevent the Public building up a pattern of the kind of person who might be sticking metal into people. But this time, for some impossible to guess reason, they didn't bother. Maybe they thought, "It's just one guy, it'll be fine. Let's do it!"

In fact, it has been several decades, or even centuries, since anyone in Britain can remember the London police releasing a picture of a wanted criminal. The best known previous case was for a Mr Richard Turpin and his horse Black Bess, who were wanted for a ride-by shooting on the Old Kent Road in 1739. Reward: six guineas.

Following his arrest and execution by being hung, drawn (see above), and quartered, there were complaints in the print sheets and gazettes about people with vegetable-based names being unfairly stereotyped.