We had our firearms license taken from us because Himself brought up the unforgivable to the ex-copper (Traffic) who was then in charge of licensing.
The unforgivable?
He mentioned the Black Rats.
Now bear in mind this was from a man who’d worked extensively with civilian police forces. He’d even trained SO19. Now called SCO19. And had worked in more war zones than the average video game player experiences in a year of 24/7 gaming.
SCO19 is the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) specialist firearms unit. This elite cadre of highly-trained police officers are on standby to respond to any armed incident in London. Both men and women can join SCO19.
All we had were two shotguns. Secured. Unloaded. Locked in a gun cabinet secured to the wall with the keys hidden. Shit – even I didn’t know where the keys were.
So. What are the Black Rats?
They drive around with a Black Rat Sticker on their vehicle. See image above.
In the early 1970s, the term ‘Black Rats’ existed as a derogatory name for the unforgiving officers of London’s Metropolitan Police Traffic Division (Traffpols); they were known to be strict and would not hesitate to report their own mother for speeding, or another officer (particularly one from the CID) for some …
Eyeball Roll and License refused. Sigh.
P.S. My brother was ARV/Traffic. Because of the cuts in Lincolnshire police budgets, traffic cops were also Armed Response Vehicles. My brother – Chief Black Rat LOL :o)