crime

Policeman fires at suspect in convenience store robbery

37 Comments

Police in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, said Wednesday that a police officer fired his gun at a suspect in the armed robbery of a convenience store.

According to police, the incident occurred just after 4 a.m. Tuesday. TV Asahi quoted police as saying that the suspect, identified as Kenichi Toyama, 36, entered the convenience store in Minamimachi, threatened the store clerk with a knife and demanded cash from the register. However, the store clerk cried out and Toyama quickly fled, surveillance camera footage showed.

Police said that Toyama was spotted by two police officers. When they approached him, he attempted to stab one of the officers. Police said that as Toyama ran away, one of the officers fired at him, hitting him in the right leg, TV Asahi reported.

Warabi police have been on high alert as there have been four armed robberies of convenience stores in the area since March.

The officer who discharged his weapon was quoted as saying, "I believe I acted in a professional manner for the sake of public safety."

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37 Comments
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The officer who discharged his weapon was quoted as saying," I believe I acted in a professional manner for the sake of public safety"

Good job officer

15 ( +17 / -2 )

" I believe I acted in a Professional Manner "; Sorry, the robber was no longer a threat to either you or your partner. The fact that he was RUNNING AWAY is proof of this. You are NO LONGER authorized Deadly Force, but hay, " THIS is J-Pan " .

-27 ( +4 / -30 )

WA4TKG, who said anything about deadly force? The guy attacked the officer with a knife, and still holding said knife tried to escape. Four armed robberies in the area in the last month. Who knows what he would have done with the knife next? The officer shot him in the leg...

17 ( +17 / -0 )

I think the policeman did the correct thing.

11 ( +14 / -3 )

You are NO LONGER authorized Deadly Force, but hay, " THIS is J-Pan " .

Are you seriously suggesting that J-Police are more trigger-happy than police in other countries?

14 ( +16 / -2 )

He was right. Even though h was fleeing, the robber could have harmed other people with his knife (even non-intentionally, like pushing people out of his way).

7 ( +9 / -2 )

I have asked officers, and it's a secret what caliber are their weapons? They carry revolvers not semi autos Really old school stuff, good job Mr Police

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Yes , indeed you did the right thing in disabling the robber so he will not come again

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Cricky: Aren't their guns those clunky (not sure about make) Smith and Wesson revolvers?

Not sure if they care nonlethal weapons such as tasers though, I thought those would have been more appropriate than a live round for a situation such as this.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Note this story well. It might be the only one in 2014 in which a cop fires his sidearm in the line of duty.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

The guy was armed with a deadly weapon and the officer acted appropriately in my opinion. In the US this would be called a clean shooting and the officer is filly justified. Just because the man was running away doesn't mean he was no longer a treat, he just tried to rob a store and stab a police officer, this man is still armed with a nice, who knows what he is capable of doing, he posed a great risk to the public at large.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Hmm, shot him in the leg. Was he aiming at his leg? It's very unusual to hear about Japanese police shooting at perps. However, this one did try to stab one of the officers and it was in 'punk central' Saitama.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

So, in the end the culprit was arrested or able to flee even after getting shot on the leg, am I missing something?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Poor cop. He's going to be drowning under a sea of paperwork just for pulling the damn thing out of the holster, let alone firing it ;) I'm pretty sure the rozzers here have different "firearm appropriateness" training now since that loon went crazy in Akihabara. Iirc, at that time none of the police fired a shot.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

<So, in the end the culprit was arrested or able to flee even after getting shot on the leg, am I missing something?> I don't think he can get away after being shot on the leg, unless you are in Hollywood.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I have asked officers, and it's a secret what caliber are their weapons? They carry revolvers not semi autos Really old school stuff, good job Mr Police<

Depends on the town, I think. In my city the cops carry what looks like Glock 9mm semi-autos. I have seen however cops carrying revolvers, most likely a .38 caliber S&W.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Most carry .38 specials. He needed at least 2 rounds in the center of mass to drop his chinchin in the dirt. Too bad he didn't aim higher and to the left...the perp got what he deserved for attempted murder of a police officer.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

They use the S&W M37, New Nanbu Model60, and the Sig P250. Most likely the police used the S&W M37 on this low life. For those of you saying he could have ran...try it after being shot. You cannot.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Nice shot!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The guy had attacked another person with a knife before; the shot was absolute justified. The people who´d prefer to have this dangerous perp escape should re-think.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Common sense please. The guy had a knife and had just tried to stab a cop. He could have rounded the next corner and waited for the cops to come running in pursuit, had another stab and then run again, and repeated like someone exploiting poor AI in a video game. It isn't like the cops shot him just for running away, they shot him after he'd just tried to knife them. Justified beyond the shadow of a doubt.

0 ( +7 / -7 )

+1 for Frungy. Good shot, officer.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

This is Japan not New York or L.A. The guy might of attacked with a knife but no one was hurt and he was running away... officer should of apprehended the suspect without firing the weapon. Gun should be the absolute last resort in defense or saving of a life and not to catch up with the criminal.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

You really need to change your comments thread so you can chain off original comments. They very much lose their impact twenty comments down thread. But here goes . . .

WA4TKGAPR. 30, 2014 - 03:32PM JST Sorry, the robber was no longer a threat to either you or your partner. The fact that he was RUNNING AWAY is proof of this. You are NO LONGER authorized Deadly Force, but hay, " THIS is J-Pan " .

The officer gets high marks for shooting to wound. Had this happened in most large cities in the U.S. both officers might have shot him multiple times. Google "police shootings in the States" and you will find a preponderance of the "use of excessive force," which means in most cases a guy like our knife wielding would-be hold-up man being shot to death rather than incapacitated by a round to the shoulder or thigh.

That being said, I agree that if a suspect is running away, give chase and bring the guy down by tripping him or clubbing him with a baton. Shooting him was not the best move in the situation.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Nice shot. Yes, as every bullet is accounted fire in Japan, he'll have to fill in a lot of paperwork, but at least he properly did his job in the field. That's why they carry guns.I have no sympathy for the bad guy.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

He could have rounded the next corner and waited for the cops to come running in pursuit

And the cop could have missed and hit some innocent passer-by coming round the corner.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Good 1 Officer!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

That robber is lucky he got hit in the leg instead of his head.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

cleoMay. 01, 2014 - 08:02AM JST

He could have rounded the next corner and waited for the cops to come running in pursuit

And the cop could have missed and hit some innocent passer-by coming round the corner.

He could, it is possible, and by that logic the cops shouldn't carry guns, because they're almost always operating in populated areas. I'm totally behind that logic, the U.K. police force didn't carry guns until very recently. Talk to your local politician about it.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Good job by the officer, but I also think I read somewhere that the regulation says they can't shoot fleeing people?

Jeff HuffmanMay. 01, 2014 - 05:40AM JST

Jeff there's a reason police aren't taught to shoot to wound. A) It's very hard to do and B) Shots to shoulders, legs etc. are often fatal anyway.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Well done! Zero tolerant.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Did they get him? In the leg is ok.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Police are not trained to kill... They're trained to stop the threat.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

So much praise for the officer for shooting a fleeing suspect. But if the bullet bounced off his leg bone and hit an innocent bystander, all the praise would disappear and be replaced with comments about how reckless he was for shooting at a guy running away.

And guess what? We still don't know where the bullet stopped! The article does not say!

Japanese cops need tazers, and this was the perfect example. I just hope that if and when they get tazers, strict discipline will be exercised and they won't be tazering people for fun like some places.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

When they approached him, he attempted to stab one of the officers. Police said that as Toyama ran away, one of the officers fired at him, hitting him in the right leg,

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police did right thing. Glad no one else was hurt.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

A job well done and the perp is lucky it was just his leg. Would be nice if he lost his left sack or something to remember his wrong deeds.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I think it's enough speculation of what "could have happened". None of us was there to face the threat, we hardly qualify to comment on the "what ifs".

Bottom line was the affected police officers faced an immediate threat with a weapon bearing low life, and the outcome was a text book result.

In many countries as highlighted by many readers, you won't even set another foot toward the officers having anything in your possession PERCEIVED dangerous. They will shoot you and talk later, and benefit of doubt still mostly credited to the law enforcers. The fact that these Japanese officers did their best to intervene without trigger happy of the firearms earned my respect. I also have no doubt that the officer aimed on lower body of the robber, any aim near the center of the target would have yielded very different news headlines.

Well done officer, please do not go soft on violent crime like this, otherwise Japan will not be able to preserve the way of life that many of us (foreigners especially) love so much and had chosen to stay on consequently.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

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