Party Police: English Police Storm Small Birthday Party in Body Armor and Protected with a Helicopter

300px-DSC05638Andrew Poole threw a 30th birthday party in England with 17 of his closest friends. He ended up hosting a company of police with four police cars, a riot van, and a helicopter. The ultimate party crashers claims that they were “concerned” that the party was a rave because it was advertised on Facebook. Even when they found 15 people and a single barbecue, the police still shutdown the birthday party.

Eight officers stormed the party in camouflage and body armor as the helicopter hovered above. While this would seem an obvious embarrassment for the police, the department has actually insisted that it was right to storm the party in force: “We were extremely concerned how the event had been advertised on the internet as an all-night party.”

For the full story, click here.

10 Responses to “Party Police: English Police Storm Small Birthday Party in Body Armor and Protected with a Helicopter”


  1. 1 AF 1, July 17, 2009 at 10:17 am

    The UK police are currently suffering from a particularly rabid form of paranoia at the moment. This irrational fear and “over-kill”, of course, doesn’t extend to doing anything significant about young hoodlums running riot, setting fire to cars, terrorising elderly and other residents and stabbing and beating up ordinary people, or even to dealing quickly with burglars until they can be darned sure the culprits have left the premises and it’s safe to enter.

    However, for all our sakes, let’s hope a cure for the mental instability of the police will be found in the near future, although the National Health Service is pretty sick itself, so who knows?

  2. 2 Anonymously Yours 1, July 17, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Party down big bobby. So exactly how did this come to the attention of the authorities?

    After rereading the article I still have the same question.

  3. 3 Jill 1, July 17, 2009 at 10:33 am

    A.Y.

    Agreed. Police are searching through Facebook. Is having an all night party illegal? They should bring down children’s PJ parties immediately!!!

    Police in the UK and the US are, IMO, doing dry runs in case either govt. wants to declare martial law. The more we acquiesce to these out of control police state actions, the more confident they will become that the public will not resist.

  4. 4 Dave von Ebers 1, July 17, 2009 at 11:01 am

    Years ago, I would have said that this is the problem with not having a written constitution, the British approach being, essentially, “yes we believe in constitutional liberties but don’t ask us to put it in writing.” But these days, I’d expect to see the same thing in the U.S., the Fourth Amendment be damned.

    Makes me want to dust of those old Clash records from the late 70’s and put ‘em on the hi-fi.

  5. 5 Jericho 1, July 17, 2009 at 11:19 am

    The force must be bored…

  6. 6 Dredd 1, July 17, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    Who says the police do not listen to the Powell doctrine?

  7. 7 GWLawSchoolMom 1, July 17, 2009 at 9:20 pm

    all night parties used to be called slumber parties and while a few I attended did get out of hand the most damage ever done was a TP-ing of a house in the neighborhood. I guess the british police force are really concerned that 17 people might decide to TP someone’s house. like the prime minister’s.

  8. 8 hidflect 1, July 18, 2009 at 5:30 pm

    Guliani’s fascist “Zero Tolerance Policy” at work. I can imagine the official crime rate in Germany was never so low as it was in 1939.

    You ‘ave the right to do wha’ I tell you…

  9. 9 pardon me? 1, July 18, 2009 at 7:09 pm

    Memorable 30th, though not a wang dang doodle good time.


  1. 1 One More Reason To Be Suspicious of Facebook | Popehat Trackback on 1, July 17, 2009 at 11:31 am

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