This.
Police officers are just people from the community, trained and willing to deal with extraordinary situations. They have families, they go to the gym, they watch football. They are not the military and neither are they cannon fodder.
By law they are not expected to put themselves at unreasonable risk, even though the public often expects them to and some choose to. They are expected to read a situation, assess risk and take appropriate action to preserve life and prevent crime where they can. They are not expected to take reckless risks, wade in without thinking, or deal with situations they are not equipped for, all of which can actually be more dangerous to the public as well as themselves.
That's why there are specially trained public order officers with appropriate kit, officers on horseback, firearms officers, officers trained to use taser, dog handlers, etc. Most officers you see on the street, or supporting social services activity for example, are just regular response or neighborhood officers, and many of those are still pretty new in service. They don't attend expecting a riot to kick off and neither should they. They are not riot police. But they will take the action required of them if it happens.
They will all do what they can to protect life and prevent crime, it's why they joined and what they signed up to. They are absolutely not expected to give up their lives or get seriously injured in order to do so, although they and their families know that's always a risk, every day. And many sadly do end up losing their lives. But they are not expected to throw them away. And certainly not to save a ****ing bus.
Calling taking the action required of them under the law "retreating", is ridiculous rhetoric and only serves to inflame the anti-police narrative. Maybe they're not gung-ho enough for some people's liking. Good. That's exactly why they are trained and bound by a legal framework and a professional code of conduct, not loose cannons putting people's lives at risk. They are certainly not cowards, and to suggest that from behind a keyboard is pretty offensive tbh. They, and their commanding officers with years of experience of leading public order situations, will always look at the most appropriate action to take and sometimes that's to stand back. And they won't give a sh*t that someone on a forum somewhere with no idea of what policing is really like, might think it makes them look a bit soft.
