Dan Coffrill

As you might have guessed by some of the links, I am interested in public service blogs and although I tend not to comment on them, I do pop in every day to see what's going on. A couple of weeks ago, via Random Acts of Reality, I came across this story. To say I pretty gobsmacked was an understatement. Inspector Gadget who writes The Police Inspectors Blog has been trying to raise awareness of the plight of PC Coffrill and his family.

In a nutshell: a young, off-duty PC is making his way home. A couple of lads ask him for a light for their joint. He refuses. They punch him to the ground, doing so much harm that he is left permanently brain damaged. Because he was off-duty, he and his family who are now providing 24-hour care for him, do not qualify for the usual sources of funding and support that are available to officers wounded in the line of duty. Not only that, but the Met have been woefully unsupportive of their fallen comrade. If that couldn't make things any worse, the two 'gentlemen' who attacked him have had their sentences reduced through the Appeal system. So Gadget and his readers have taken up the cause. Today, he asked this piece of information to be disseminated. Don't take my word for it, follow the links; pass it on.

Yes I do have a vested interest in all things copper, for reasons namely the Viking; but puting that to one side, I strongly feel that this is an outrage. What concerns me more is that Dan Coffrill's case is probably not unique and there are similar stories to his happening all over the country, every day. In my reality, that's just not on.