Mrluvaluva
14-05-2007, 09:24 AM
From The Sun
A TERRIFIED dad was held by police for 13 hours after they mistook a dummy of Lara Croft for a gunman.
Computer games fan David Williams, 42, was arrested when armed cops swooped on his home late at night.
He was pinned to the ground, handcuffed and quizzed — after officers spotted his life-sized model of the gun-toting Tomb Raider star.
David, from Dukinfield, Greater Manchester said: “I can’t believe the police could be so stupid.”
He had called cops about nuisance phone calls he had received.
But when two officers arrived, one saw the limited edition 6ft statue, worth £1,000, standing in the darkness of his living room window.
Fearing it was an armed crook, the officers called in support — and David was held at gunpoint. He claims he was bruised in the scuffle.
David, who runs a computer games store, said: “The back-up cops burst in through the back door and knocked me to the ground. One jabbed a gun in the back of my neck and said, ‘All right — where’s the gun?’
“I said, ‘I don’t have one’. They weren’t happy and searched the house.
“They took me in for questioning, and brought the mannequin with them.
“They must have soon realised what had happened because the PC who called for help was getting a lot of stick.”
A police spokesman said: “An officer can never take things at face value.”
A TERRIFIED dad was held by police for 13 hours after they mistook a dummy of Lara Croft for a gunman.
Computer games fan David Williams, 42, was arrested when armed cops swooped on his home late at night.
He was pinned to the ground, handcuffed and quizzed — after officers spotted his life-sized model of the gun-toting Tomb Raider star.
David, from Dukinfield, Greater Manchester said: “I can’t believe the police could be so stupid.”
He had called cops about nuisance phone calls he had received.
But when two officers arrived, one saw the limited edition 6ft statue, worth £1,000, standing in the darkness of his living room window.
Fearing it was an armed crook, the officers called in support — and David was held at gunpoint. He claims he was bruised in the scuffle.
David, who runs a computer games store, said: “The back-up cops burst in through the back door and knocked me to the ground. One jabbed a gun in the back of my neck and said, ‘All right — where’s the gun?’
“I said, ‘I don’t have one’. They weren’t happy and searched the house.
“They took me in for questioning, and brought the mannequin with them.
“They must have soon realised what had happened because the PC who called for help was getting a lot of stick.”
A police spokesman said: “An officer can never take things at face value.”