Armed police mistake Lara Croft for gunman

Armed police raided a Manchester man's living room after they mistook his plastic Lara Croft mannequin for a gunman.

Computer shop owner David Williams, 42, had taken the dummy home to flog it on eBay (naughty, naughty!) but little did he know, his cheeky dealings would soon land him with a gun in his face.

Mr. Williams, a father of two,had phoned the police after receiving nuisance phone calls from the local hoodies. Unknown to him, officers arrived and called for armed backup after spotting Lara's silhouette in the window.

Quickly the street was cordoned off and a team of armed officers burst through Mr. Williams' back door.

"It would have been laughable if it hadn't been so terrifying," the battered shop owner said. "One of the police held a gun and yelled, 'Where's the weapon, where's the weapon?'

"I didn't have a clue what was going on, I assumed they'd got the wrong house. I couldn't believe it when I realized they'd mistaken a Lara Croft dummy for someone with a gun."

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said Williams failed to answer his front door. "They believed they saw a silhouette of a person pointing what appeared to be a firearm inside the house," she said.

"Officers then went into the house and found a mannequin holding a toy weapon." Police followed "correct procedure," she said.

Instead of feeling a bit embarrassed and apologetic, as you would do, police then chucked Mr. Williams in a cell for 13 hours and charged him with a firearms offense (why not add tomb robbing as well?).

He's currently out on bail and speaking to lawyers about possible wrongful arrest claims. Good thing he didn't take the Marcus Fenix dummy home...

Source:Daily Mail

Courtesy of CVG.

May 27, 2008