London police blow up sports car
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
, Posted by Ed Allen at 08:10
Michael Raphel, 28, could have been forgiven for thinking his car would be safe in the most heavily police patrolled areas of the UK, less than a quarter of a mile from the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street.
Unfortunately for Mr Raphel, fearing a potential terrorist attack, the Metropolitan Police carried out two controlled explosions after seeing CCTV footage that showed him running away from the parked car.
The force of the explosions blew off the doors and smashed the windows, leaving the car a wreck.
Mr Raphel, from Headington, Oxford, was celebrating a friend’s birthday in London whilst his £18,000 Honda Civic Type R was destroyed. He then returned to find his burnt our car surrounded by anti-terrorism police.
He said: ''They said I had parked in a sensitive area, just around the corner from Number 10 Downing Street, and close to the Ministry of Defence.
''They explained that because I was seen running from the car, and because of the parades the next day, it had heightened their suspicions.
''When I got back to the car, the driver and passenger windows had been blown out and the bonnet and boot had come open with the force.
''We have laughed about it a bit now but I'm bit gutted to be honest.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they carried out two controlled explosions on a vehicle parked in Horse Guard Avenue, Westminster at 10pm on November 7 but refused to comment further.
Posts
They WILL be paying for the repairs/replacement won't they?
yet another reason for my growing dislike of the UK.
Wow!
It's a car, fucking get over it.
Having a Honda Civic type R like that destroyed is just a pity. Honda is my favourite car make. I am gutted simply. Now, the big question is: will they refund you a similar car?
"It's just a house, get over it." After someone burns down your house and all your belongings. Let's see how you feel then!
I wouldn't be shocked if they try to get out of it by saying it was essential and his own fault. In reality the first thing they should've done was find out who's car it was and try to contact them. If they were ssooooo suspicious of it they would've surely hauled him to the ground when he returned and interrogated hiim.
And this my friends is the answer to "Whats wrong with having cameras all over the place? Do you have something to hide?". When you mix cops and their intelligence in our personal lives, such as parking your car and running to your friends house, because you are late or you are cold, the cops will activate super stupid cop mode and destroy a part of your life. How much all depends on how stupid cops are.
Yeah, because terrorists usually plant bombs in a top of the range sports car!
Lol@ a civic being a top of the range anything.
HES RUNNING! SHOOT HIM!
(cue missile being launched from a predator UAV hovering around London...)
Actually this version of the article leaves out the fact he was parked on double-yellow lines so I have no sympathy.
I'm pretty sure the police won't pay out and his insurance will say he was illegally parked. I doubt he'll get a pay out.
@anonymous "top of the range" refers to this car being the best civic you can buy. it is the "top of the range".
That is categorically NOT a sports car.
Don't like it? Don't come to London. It's like the one fucking time this has happened seriously. It's a fucking civic. Of course they'll pay for his car. The cost of the resource to blow the car up is probably higher than the cost of the car.
oh and 'growing dislike of the UK' guy - I hate your country already. It cannot grow anymore....
Britain has a lot of experience with REAL terrorism (US funded too, but lets not get into that now), we're talking actual bombs left in public places, cars, bags and actual deaths. Less than 15 years ago this type of thing was common place. Car bombs are in the police psyhce, Most londoners are only too aware of
The guy that abandonded his car on double yellows a stone's throw from no. 10 was an idiot, the police did the right thing here. Better safe than sorry.
And it is just a car,(and a honda civic too, jeez you must have shtty cars to think this is cool), to the guy who insinuated well "it's just a house". Clearly there's no comparison, You can buy another identical car. the police would not blow up an abandonded house.
fucking government retards
I can tell you for a fact that man wont get a penny in compensation
"...the police would not blow up an abandonded house."
Unless of course they thought there might be a bomb in th house ;)
I always ask myself in what this paranoia will result. Well, there it is.
They should have set up more cameras to be able to follow this guy before blowing up his car. CCTV everywhere! Even toilets (hey, terrorists know that this is the only place where there is no camera so far).
Big Brother fails!
A friend of mine took the plates from the car because they were damage. He was away from the car one hour.
In is return, the car was blowup.
Same stupid cops in Portugal....
That Honda Civic is a FAKE TYPE R!
It has a rear beam rather than independant struts. Since when did Honda start cutting corners on the Type R's? The last good Type R was the Integra 98 JDM SPEC.
Moral of the story is...be glad they blew it up!
I don't understand, why would they blow up a car if they thought it had a bomb in it?
No the last good type r was the nsx type r!!!
yes why blow a car up if theres a bomb in it? wont it blow up more?
This is what I thought if it was traditional explosives then the car would have blown up the explosives which would mean a bigger explosion.
They could of took a pic after as well.
Fucking douchebags. I'd sue their asses for being more stupid than humanly possible.
Civic Type R not even close to a sports car. One less Honda on the streets is a good thing. LOL
A bogus post.....just would not happen....the poster leaves no way to verify....certainly an act of this nature would be news....
Next time buy a Mazda.
As a Londoner it wouldn't occur to me to doubt this story
As an internet user a quick news search shows reputable UK newspapers also reporting it: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6927896.ece for one
The day before remembrance day, in the middle of controversy over current military actions, and with a history of car bombs in the UK, he really should've known better
A note for non-UK readers, controlled explosions of car bombs is/was normal here, the emphasis being on the word control
"he should have know better"?
Why should anyone need to make a connection between 'current military actions' and parking in the wrong place and running? At the most he should have got a ticket/towed.
You'd think this was the first person who had ever parked their car in the vicinity of Downing Street and ran after getting out of it.
Would real terrorists run from their car?
Would the police have time to blow it up if they were running because there was a bomb in it?
"Why should anyone need to make a connection between 'current military actions' and parking in the wrong place and running?"
The day before a remembrance parade? Central London? History of car bombs?
You're talking about a city where it's hard to find a rubbish bin because of bombs
It's only in the last decade that it's not been normal practice to evacuate an area because of a bag left alone, and I'd readily believe that most people wouldn't investigate a 'potential threat' still
We're a country/city with a history of lone/suicide bombers, so forgive me if I have little sympathy for someone parking where he's told not to and is now having to deal with the consequences of that
V-Tech just kicked in yo!
"V-Tech just kicked in yo!"
this has nothing to do with phones or other electronics (www.vtech.com)
Its v-tec...
And you all say it's just a honda,
i wonder what you guys drive, a vauxhall???
In stead of bombing cars, they should take care of buildings catching fire, like i just saw on the tv news...
@"It's a car, fucking get over it."
Man, I would love to see someone chop your limbs off haha.
its vtec not v-tech or v-tec
"Anonymous says:
26 November 2009 16:17
@"It's a car, fucking get over it."
Man, I would love to see someone chop your limbs off haha."
That's pretty scary.
ok guys, lets use our reasoning skills. This guys parked his car ONE WHOLE DAY before the parade and RAN. If the car was going to blow up twenty-hours after it was parked then it would have to be a big damn explosion for him to feel the necessity to run away from it. If he would have non-challantly walked away and NOT entered one of the surrounding buildings, but rather just walked off, then this would have been a little more justifiable. Had they run his license plates, they probably would have been able to find out that he was a local and he probably hadn't purchased that car with straight cash two days prior.
And seriously, how much explosive material can your really fit in a Honda Civic that you have to worry about it being a block away from the PM's house.
Whether you think this is not a big deal cause its a civic or whatever, it is a total over-reaction by the police whether there is a history of car-bombings or not. There's a point where it becomes paranoia. A little patience and common sense would have averted the entire situation.
I completely agree that this is a ridiculous and unfounded over reaction by the police. They would have had to approach the vehicle to place explosives in it and they would have had to cordon off a safe area to keep others from the explosion so presumably it would not have been that difficult to cordon off a safe area and then examine the car for explosives while someone checks the licence and registration.
It's not a solution to say so what, it's a replaceable material possession. It's significant damage that a little more effort could have completely prevented. The police can't use fear mongering to excuse sloppy investigations, or non-existent investigations, which is more accurate in this case. The extension of that argument is "so what, he was only held for 24 hours, get over it." Citizens have the right to be free from state interference except interference that is justified by facts and is the minimal interference necessary.
I find it hard to grasp the way most people think in this - if he had not broken the law and parked illegally
none of this would have happened.
Surely the law is the lAW and if you break it, you should be prepared to accept whatever penalty that is assessed and face whatever the consequences. I do not think a birthday bash takes precedent over National security and I, for one, endorse the police action.
Now I will wish your all a Very Merry Christmas
People, people! You must look much further than a blinkered response about it being someone's car.
What does it matter that it was 24 hours before a parade - will it do less maiming and damage?
We should subject innocent (police) lives to examine the vehicle? Would like to see you volunteering for that job!
And hey, give me paranoia any day, than risk the cost of a piece of metal with 4 wheels.
Most of these comments are presented by materialistic got-to-haves!
Imagine, the police are ringing round to find out who this guy is... you walk past the car and... BOOM! Your family are not pissed-off with the police for letting that happen!
The car bomb that went off a week or so later in Belfast had 400lbs of explosives in it. The men ran off and the bomb exploded 30 minutes later.
So what if it was 24 hours before the parade. An explosion the day before would still have disrupted the parade because people would have been less likely to attend knowing that they might be blown up.
The purpose of Terrorism if to create Terror. To make you afraid to goto the parade, or fly, or sit on the patio at a coffee house.
In 2008 British military teams responded to more than 800 calls to dispose of IEDs and thats not even counting the hundreds of unexploded bombs the Nazi's dropped during WW2 found every year.
And remember this was about 550 yards from 10 Dowing Street, I wonder what the response of homeland security would be if an Arab parked a car 500 yards from the White House and ran away.
I think its fucking hularious that a dumb shit would park in an illegal spot and they blew up his car hahaha what a dumb limme bastard i bet next time he sees a no parking sign he doesnt stop i think he should have to pay for the bomb aswell and the cost of the fire and police staff to stand there what a useless peice of shit hahahahahahahahah looks good on him
I'm not from the UK. And, I don't have the experience of living in a country where there are bombs. It seems that if I had the job to protect people, I would be very suspicious of this man's actions. I wouldn't be wanting to approach anything that could explode at any moment. At least no person was hurt. And, kudoos for the times when the police have dismantled real bombs and saved lives.
Also, don't terrorists stay with the bomb when it blows, to be in paradise with 10,000 virgins? Did the bombers who bombed your train (tube) stay with their bombs?
What happens to the 10,000 virgins after they've been used and are virgins no more?
what a pity... a terrorist should bought a brits car instead cuz they are such a garbage ..shaaa hahahaha..fckn good for nothing pony cops .. should come and learn it from our country australia ..shaaaaa
all bro upthere.
Let Me tELL YOU... the car blown up cuz the copper know how highly explosive the car is, they know that the type r cant be caught by the police in a speed chases. So they have to blow it up whenever they saw a chance.. YES PEOPLE ITS A CONSPIRASI by the police to lower the mental of the TYPE R OWNER.. long live the type r especially the FN 2 R...
VTEC kick in yo...
I like the type R very nice car not the most expensive but still better than a lot