"Three store workers - two with stab wounds - last night held down the teenager who attacked them until police arrived."

That was the headline opening sentence on Wednesday, October 1, 2008.

Now the police have decided to charge the owner of said liquor store with two counts of "injuring with intent to injure"!

Ummm... hello - 4 unruly drunk teenagers enter a liquor store, when asked to leave, they pull a knife and become violent?

The police officer heading the investigation states the following:

"He said the arrest serves a reminder to all that taking the law into their own hands in some circumstances can not be justified."

He follows with:

"Shop keepers and the general public can be reassured that the police will respond with urgency to situations where assistance is needed.

"Ring 111, observe what is happening and let police deal with these situations," Mr Pizzini added.

Where were the police when the poor liquor store owner who lost his life several months ago?  They were a block away waiting for the ok to move in as he bled to death. 

Where where the police when Austin Bernard Hemmings went to the aid of a woman being assaulted?

Had the death been the assailant rather than Mr Hemmings, would he still have been lauded a hero by the police.

It is time the police get a reality check.  If the public can not can not rely on timely responses from the police, incidents like this will continue to occur.

I hope the judge throws it out and tells the police to buck up their ideas, but that would be most unlikely with the current limp-wristed crap coming out of the judicary lately.