Quirky World: ‘Legend’ bystander trips up suspected dealer
A quick-thinking bystander who brought a police chase crashing to a halt is being urged to come forward so officers can thank him.
Footage released by police in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, shows the man, praised as a “legend” by the force, casually tripping up a suspected drug dealer as he is pursued on foot.
With his hands in his pockets the man is seen to stretch out his right leg, bringing the suspect to the floor, before striding away arm-in-arm with his female companion.
The video was widely shared and viewed over 250,000 on social media after it emerged online.
PC Sebastian Ellis from Kingston Borough said: “We are very thankful to this man for his swift intervention that helped the officers detain the suspect. The video was brought to the attention of the Borough Commander who was very impressed and would like to meet the passer-by. So if you are reading this article please get in contact with me.”
Police on patrol were made aware of a report of two males seen dealing drugs on Clarence St, Kingston, on Saturday.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The males left prior to the arrival of police but one of them was stopped by police near to the scene. Officers attempted to speak to the male who then made off. With the help of a member of the public he was detained a short time later.
“The 17-year-old youth was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class-A drugs.”
The boy was taken to a police station, and bailed until early April, police said.
A scuttling robot cockroach has been developed that mimics the insect’s creepy ability to squeeze through the narrowest gaps.
Just like a real cockroach, the palm-sized mechanised bug can keep crawling even when its body is squished to a fraction of its normal width. Scientists at Harvard University believe cockroach technology could help in the search and rescue of victims buried under rubble as a result of storms, earthquakes or explosions.
Sleep deprivation greatly increases the chances of an innocent suspect confessing to a crime, a study has found.
Tests on volunteers showed that participants who had been kept awake for 24 hours were 4.5 times more likely to sign a false confession than those who had enjoyed eight hours’ sleep. The findings have far-reaching implications for police forces, military authorities, and other agencies that engage in questionable interrogation techniques, researchers from Michigan State University in the US said.
A Florida fast-food restaurant got a customer it wasn’t expecting when a live alligator was tossed through a drive-thru window by a patron. Joshua James, 23, of Jupiter, Florida, had wanted to play a practical joke on a friend working at the Wendy’s restaurant in Royal Palm Beach when he decided to hurl the reptile into the building, his parents told local broadcaster WPTV.
“It was a stupid prank,” Linda James said.
James faces charges of aggravated assault, and unlawful possession and transportation of an alligator, WPTV said.
James found the 3-ft alligator on the side of the road and led the reptile into his truck, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission incident report cited by the station.
He drove to Wendy’s and placed an order, received a drink at the drive-thru window, and then threw the alligator through the opening, it said. The alligator was released back into the wild.
A Wisconsin couple allowed their nine-year-old daughter to drive them and their 11-month-old baby because they were too drunk to do so themselves, according to Polk County Circuit Court records.
Jason Roth, 36, and Amanda Eggert, 32, pleaded not guilty in court to charges of recklessly endangering safety and neglecting a child . On January 31, a sheriff’s deputy responded to a call about an erratic driver and found the couple and their children parked at a boat drop. The deputy arrested the couple when he learned their nine-year-old daughter was driving them and their baby home in their pickup truck because they were both intoxicated.
Eggert also faces several charges stemming from a fight she had with paramedics who arrived to help her with a cut on her hand suffered when she was snowmobiling earlier in the day, court records showed.
Police say a 23-year-old woman tried to get a couple to rob the Pennsylvania fast-food restaurant where she worked.
Police say Alayna Weishner-Rush asked the duo to rob the Burger King in Washington, Pennsylvania, while she was working the drive-thru window, so she could split the money with them later. But police say the couple instead contacted police about the plan.
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