Northern Ireland but thats a whole can of worms as to whether the poster meant UK or GB.

It was GB. They were in uniform, and with all the macho shit - cuffs, collapsible nightsticks, tasers, flak jackets. I said it was "lunch-break", because they were clearly shopping for sandwiches. But that doesn't mean they were off-duty.

Yeah, I'm not used to seeing coppers packing pistols. I think there was some political march that day, but in this town marches and protests don't turn into riots. And I don't think it's appropriate for gunmen to serve as march stewards.

Authorised firearms officers will generally carry some form of rifle (or submachine gun?) as their primary firearm but will also carry a sidearm, most commonly a Glock 17 I think but I do know my local constabulary issue a SIG Sauer P320 (and a SIG Sauer MCX as their primary, but again this varies by constabulary).