I haven't read any of this thread but, RE :
I'm curious to know whether you provide any of the photos you take to help proscecute Protesters who do break the law
I think you'll find that the Met is perfectly capable of taking all the photos they require.
Have you ever been on a demo in London ?
This sort of gear doesn't suggest that they need to rely on people's mobile phone pictures.
You clearly don't understand the law
It's simple. You get arsey with the cops, they get arsey with you.
Anyway I thought the thread was "Coppers get off on hitting women"
Talkemada, you are mental...
Zulu-Eleven "You clearly don't understand the law - what matters is what the police officer honestly believed to be the threat he was under at the time "
And this we just accept to be true. When you look at the baton strike, does that look like a man afraid of being attacked? I don't believe for a second he felt under threat, I think he was just angry and frustrated and probably knackered, but saying he felt threatened is purely a nice excuse.
Did they say you were breaking the law or were they fed up with your flash going off in their face every 10-seconds?
Re the size of the women, true she might have been a world class martial art kick ass. However the fact they have riot gear means very little is dangerous to them.
It is funny how copper seems to "choose their victims". When there is a student protest (always peaceful I shall say) they are quite happy to charge (specially on feminine students). When during such protest, people from suburbs come to go and have one with the students they do nothing (I am very sadden to say you can clearly make a difference between the students and the trouble makers too). When it's a protest from says diggers they don't seems to want to charge either.
I have lost all faith in coppers. I actually now cross the street if I see one just in case.
Some on here have missed the point, whilst the footage makes the cop seem like a thug and maybe he is a thug, but he is a legalised thug. The problem here is with the law and those who run the police service in this country.
If the outcome of this event concerns you (as it does me) then what you (we) should really do is campaign to change the way protests are policed and to change the licensing of violence as method of "control" by the police.
she wasnt being violent just abnoxious and annoying
Sounds like a good reason for a slap to me! 
Northwind
And this we just accept to be true. When you look at the baton strike, does that look like a man afraid of being attacked? I don't believe for a second he felt under threat, I think he was just angry and frustrated and probably knackered, but saying he felt threatened is purely a nice excuse.
Seems that a judge and two magistrates, after watching the recordings and listening to the evidence of the independent witnesses thought otherwise. See, they took into account the evidence before making a judgement, rather than telling us what they thought after watching a few seconds of video - thats why its great to have a court system...
Some observations from personal experience.1) The press do not always cover all the facts and can omit bits of video.
2) Folk are very keen to presume that a persons size and their potential
danger are related.
3) Police often have to make a decision based on information gathered
in a split second.
4) This information causes them to make a decision on what they BELIEVE
to be right at that time. This decision CAN be the wrong one.
5) It is very difficult, if not impossible; in a public order situation
to assess everything happening.
6) Officers will be (quite rightly) asked to justify their
actions, however this will be to people who have had hindsight and
the luxury of going over the scenario again and again and again.
Spot on. IMO the copper in question made the wrong decision judging by the footage I've seen, but he has been bought to court so it seems like the law works. I would hope though that as a UK citizen with a right to protest peacefully (which includes shouting at coppers if I want to) I wouldnt get hit with a stick for simply being annoying. I would like my countries police force to be better trained and more able to control themselves when provoked by small women armed with phones and a carton of orange juice. I have to deal with the odd physical confrontation in my job and walking up to someone clearly agitated who is trying to provoke a response and cuffing them about the ear is not something I'd do. He only had to hit her swith the stick because he got the first bit wrong in my view.
I think that nobody is perfect, but in that situation, the police have to be aggressive to control the situation. Its well known that if you be namby pamby about a situation, its can get out of control very quickly. I dont have a problem with the coppers actions at all, as in general I want to live in a society where people have boundaries and handle their disputes through the courts or the media/politicians. Although admittedly it can get frustrating if you feel like your not being listened to.
Wasnt that Officer under disciplinary proceedures/dismissed from another force previously?
Anyway, I bet he wouldn't have hit Techno Viking huh?
Come on; a 5 foot something, 8 stone woman, against a 6 foot plus, body armoured up bloke twice her weight?? And he felt 'threatened'? Do me a favour!
I wonder how many people posting on here have had urine thrown at them, been spat at, had bleach squirted at them and so on and so on. Those things are fairly routine for officers on this kind of duty.
The situation here is very simple. There is an absolute right to protest, no question about that. There is however no reason to riot nor to disobey a reasonable request or instruction from a Police officer in the course of his duty. This woman is clearly being extremely aggressive and provocative, and having been told to sling her hook several times persisted in having a go at the guy in a very volatile situation. The fact that a small female is having a go at a large tooled up bloke in body armour tends to indicate that she is either potty, or looking for a PR success. The reality here is that she clearly got the latter, and that is entirely regretable IMHO. As stated previously, I object very strongly to the fact that my civil rights are being eroded and my right to protest has been diminished, but not by the Police, its prats like her who are doing the damage.
Watch the clip and look what the copper does afterwards. He totally ignores her, and immediately returns to scanning the crowd and to controlling the situation. i.e. he has neutralised the threat and is getting on with his job. If he is in fact being investigated for other issues, I can assure you he will have thought very hard about his actions, especially being fully aware that every second of it would be on camera. His career and potentially freedom would depend on it and he will be judged much more thoroughly than she ever will. Not only in court, but independantly of that by the force, and probably also involving the Police complaints authority.
I wonder how many people posting on here have had urine thrown at them, been spat at, had bleach squirted at them and so on and so on. Those things are fairly routine for officers on this kind of duty.
I remember watching and reading about the Countryside Alliance march and the treatment of the protesters. I for one do not agree with what the Protesters wanted to achieve however I was disgusted at how they were treated by the Police in attendance.
There is a fine balancing act however the Police are there to serve the people first. Not Politicians or their own violent urges.
Democracy and voice first. Always first. So what if a few 'Anarchists' pop up occasionally? It comes with the territory doesn't it?
Amazing how many people on this thread are talking about stuff they have very little experience of and based on a very limited understanding of the circumstances involved. Some of the people commenting here weren't present. Some of you who are talking authoritatively on the behaviour of the British police don't even live in the U.K! anagallis_arvensis you honestly believe that protestors turning up armed with the intention of hurting officers is irrelevant in this case? Just crazy.
I was at G20 and it is not as simple as big nasty man hits small innocent girl. It is true that certain officers go over the top and use excessive force on occassion and it's deplorable. In my experience the majority of the times this has happened the individual officers have been disciplined or charged with an offence. On the flip side I personally know a female officer who is 5ft2 who was throttled round the neck so hard by a lovely cuddly protestor at G20 that she almost passed out, had to have hospital treatment and take weeks off work. That never gets reported though does it? I would be interested to see if the perspective of some of the more vocal anti-police posters here would change if they were placed in the position of some of the officers that day.
Re Kettling - I agree with some of the comments on here around Kettling. I don't think the tactic is particularly conducive to maintaining good relations between police and protestors. At G20 I think this tactic was used too quickly and this contributed to some of the violence seen on both sides of the fence.
Amazing how many people on this thread are talking about stuff they have very little experience of and based on a very limited understanding of the circumstances involved. Some of the people commenting here weren't present.
are you suggesting we limit all conversation to stuff we have first hand experience of?
On the flip side I personally know a female officer who is 5ft2 who was throttled round the neck so hard by a lovely cuddly protestor at G20 that she almost passed out, had to have hospital treatment and take weeks off work.
I hear you. Why was she posted there and in that situation?
You wouldn't put a 47yr old male officer in such a situation. I.e. H&S and common sense should be used on which officers to post there surely?
I'd recommend her Manager was throttled for putting her in that danger.
Should have put her on the floor and given her a couple of digs too.
Hora, Techno Viking is the only person to scare Chuck Norris.
Uplink - yeah that's exactly what I'm suggesting. From now on, no individual is allowed to post about anything they haven't directly witnessed with their own eyes. If you do I'm going to hunt you down and whack you on the thigh with a big baton.
Whether it is done by the Police or the protestors /rioters I deplore the behaviour. I do however expect higher standards of behaviour from a highly trained professional police officer rather than a rioter.
It is a difficult job but I still maintain if a citizen had done this then they would be charged with assault.
Kettling is just a way of adding fuel to an already volatile situation. Poeple do have the right to gather and protest without being hoarded and trapped without toliets etc. It is hardly likely to calm the situation any is it?
I think she's taking the p**s by going to max clifford. Yes, he was wrong in leathering her, but to be frank, it wasnt that extreme, he did appear to be provoked by her, and if you put yourself in that position, you shouldnt expect to be treated with kid gloves. I took my share of kickings during the 84 strike, wrongly or rightly, but I was doing what I believed to be right at the time. If youre going to protest, at least have the courage of your convictions and dont go looking for compensation.
I do however expect higher standards of behaviour from a highly trained professional police officer rather than a rioter.
Quote of the week IMO. Succinct.
Junkyard and Hora in having a great big man cuddle shocker!
Lowey **** off. You don't have a big action man scar like junkyards 
She's a gobby boot IMHO not prepared to stand up for her actions when it really matters in front of the court.
She should have been lifted for a breach*, cuffed, doon the station, kept there till the demo was finished, then sent on her way with a £40 fixed penalty fine for anti-social behaviour.
* I know you dont have a B.O.P. in england as such ... or do you?
No but my arse crack is bigger :p
All the people who reckon they know about the tactics etc involved care to explain this one then?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R53XDz3nDuM
Legitimate self-defence/crowd control?
Or this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t244-zEENSs
It's good to know that lots of people think being a bit gobby is a legitimate reason to hit someone, or that the police should basically be able to do what they want because they are more powerful than you. I don't have much sympathy for this woman tbh but some of the stuff in this thread is really worrying.
I dont think much of her behaviour post event. However, having seen the video, the violence from the copper appeared to be inappropriate and disproportionate.
What's most important to remember is that during the policing of perfectly legal events around those days, the police (against their own rules) covered up their own identity numbers so that no one could report them for bad behaviour... which says everything about how they intended the event to turn out.
England does still have breach of the peace however it is rarely used for various reasons.
anarchists pop up at events like these, it is true that it comes with the territory. if you attend an event like this and its getting to be something more than a peaceful demonstration you are at risk being the subject of rough treatment from the police, particularly if you put yourself at the forefront and behave in a certain way. it comes with the territory, you can usually back away if you don't want confrontation. i have no symapthy for the woman. i have no sympathy for the officer, he did his job (a job he chose) and his actions were investigated and he was found not guilty. personally i don't think it should have gone to court without her appearing.
This topic has been closed to new replies.
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