Counter Current News – by M. David and Jackson Marciana
As Americans struggle to get an accurate total of just how many people U.S. police gun down annually, police in Iceland have still not shot asingle person since their single fatality in 2013.
The Guardian UK has created a database to track down hundreds of U.S. citizens killed by the police who were sworn to protect them.
Meanwhile, Iceland, has had only one police killing since the nation became independent in 1944.
There, when police shoot someone, they apologize.
“The police regret this incident and wishes to extend its condolences to the man’s family,” national police chief Haraldur Johannessen said.
“The nation was in shock. This does not happen in our country,” Thora Arnorsdottir, news editor at RUV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service said.
The incident shocked the nation, as headlines told of the death of a 59-year old man who was shot by police in December 2013. That man himself had shot at police when they entered his building. According to local sources, the man had a history of mental illness.
Still, the police believe they could have done better.
But in Iceland, police normally don’t even carry weapons, even though nearly a third of its citizens are armed. In spite of their high rate of gun ownership, unlikely the United States, violent crime is almost non-existent.
“The nation does not want its police force to carry weapons because it’s dangerous, it’s threatening,” Arnorsdottir said, even while acknowledging that guns are “a part of the culture.”
The Icelandic police department put officers involved in the shooting through grief counseling.
The police department also directly apologized to the family of the man who was killed, saying that “it’s respectful,” to do so, according to Arnorsdottir, “because no one wants to take another person’s life. ”
The Icelandic Police Superintendent says that their police have not used firearms since the incident and do not plan to.
Listen to the PRI radio interview about this incident below…
(Article by M. David and Jackson Marciana
“There, when police shoot someone, they apologize.”
Here, they do everything they can to justify it.
Sounds like paradise….wonder can I get free food, medical and housing? My bad, I need a check as
well.
Iceland….Iceland….Iceland, wonder will they accept the American National?