Farmer jailed for shooting dead burglar furious over force cuts
A FARMER jailed for shooting dead a teenage burglar in 1999 has had an astonishing clash with a police chief over falling officer numbers.
Tony Martin demanded to know why it took six officers to arrest him for drink-driving
Tony Martin – whose case caused uproar nearly 20 years ago – took Chief Constable Simon Bailey to task at a public meeting for asserting his force was being “cut to the bone”.
The furious millionaire landowner, 72, leaped up and demanded to know why, if that was true, it took six police to arrest him for drink-driving.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey did not want to discuss one particular incident
I’m probably a dinosaur or an anachronism
Mr Bailey, head of Norfolk Police, replied that he did not want to discuss a particular incident but the “normal number” for stopping a driver was two police officers.
The Chief Constable had told the meeting in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, the county now had just 1,472 police officers, which is 200 fewer than four years ago.
Suspected burglar shot in the groin by police in Queens
Tony Martin was jailed for shooting dead a teenage burglar in 1999
But Mr Martin said police needed more “personal contact” with the public, adding: “I’m probably a dinosaur or an anachronism, I’m not sure which.”
The farmer, described as an eccentric recluse, served three years for the 1999 manslaughter of Fred Barras, 16.