Really?

When did “inadequate” become a synonym for “wrong-headed”?

They swamped the city with thousands of policemen, who cracked heads, killed a guy and reminded everyone that they are dangerous people who should be feared and obeyed. It was a pretty comprehensive plan, it was only “inadequate” if what they were actually trying to achieve was love, hugs and fluffy things.

😀

Here we go!

TaserTaserTaser!

😉

TaserTaserTaser!

Could have prevented a lot of the problems? IMHO

Who brought biscuits? Just put a fresh cafetiere of coffee on.

Ah Flash – if the Met had dispensed coffee, biscuits and free love perhaps it would have been a different scenario…

wot big dummy said ^^^

a comprehnsive and well executed plan of suppression and intimidation I reckon. Just a shame that all of that ‘forward intelligence’ failed to recognise the fact that just about every one of the protesters had phone cameras – doh!

10 years ago they would have gotten away with this kind of thing, its nothing new.

I liked the bit about inconsistent use of the kettle, hmmmm inconsistent or just another restricitve power being abused?

I think this is a chocolate Hobnobs one.

Yes the Met scare me and they do seem to have a track record of killing people recently – but I wonder how they compare to other countries’ forces? American cops anyone?

That said no excuses – the Met have a lot of questions to answer, and not just on G20

All true, but as per usual, nobody seems to take pay the slightest attention to the fact that the Gxx meetings have been personified by extreme violence for years and years. In these circumstances you can’t really be shocked that the old bill make the assumption that that is what they will be confronted with. They are human too, and if they are being briefed and trained to expect to be attacked the adrenalin and testosterone will be high, and its no real surprise that they over react as when they are confronted with localised aggression, as they were.
My personal preference, knowing the tenor of the protests in the past would be to keep away, or expect a spanking if I didn’t.

Too flipping right it was inadequate – in any other country in Europe, or for that matter the rest of the world the police would have had water cannon, CS and baton rounds!

Yep this thread is nothing without the wudeboy pontificate about how the Met is all wrong and are killers that know nothing about the law.

So as he’s not here to I’ll agree with G, off you go to protest (even for a little look or the buzz) and a group bobbies high on adrenalin tell you to shut it and move on. You don’t do what your told and get a smack,kicking or even killed. Yes it’s wrong but so is standing on a crossing when you can see a fast car comming, it’s not going to stop. Your in the right but it’s going to end in tears when car hits you, you’ll still be right though.

Zulu-Eleven – Member

Too flipping right it was inadequate – in any other country in Europe, or for that matter the rest of the world the police would have had water cannon, CS and baton rounds!

So you don’t think the Met went to far then?

>extreme violence for years and years

Not, AFAIA, in the UK – there’s been the odd idiots/anarchists/troublemakers trying to hijack the proceedings, but they’ve been mostly peaceful over here. And that’s partly the point of the findings, the Police were treating it as a bunch of troublemakers to be corralled/detained, rather than a bunch of largely peaceful protesters, which is what it was.

One issue that appeared in the press over the last few days was that one officer that’s achieved some bad publicity by hitting people had previously left the force under allegations of inappropriate behaviour, subsequently rejoined the Met via another force, and his previous record wasn’t examined when he rejoined.

Dunno how widespread it is, but I have some reason to believe at least some of the officers had been on long shifts, and anyone tired might be a bit more short-tempered and heavy-handed. Doesn’t excuse some of ’em tho’. Equally corralling people ain’t gonna help.

>in any other country in Europe, or for that matter the rest of the world the police would have had water cannon, CS and baton rounds

Rubbish generalisation. In the cases where there’s actually *riots* that might happen, but equally a lot of peaceful protests takes place.
The Brits are just a bit crap at doing protests so I suspect there’s a certain element whether in government or in the police that seem to think it threatens public order and should be curtailed.

Police in riot gear trapping peaceful demonstrators and agitating them to the point where they lash out is not a new thing. The term “kettling ” is a new one on me, but describes the tactic well – “fill kettle and bring to the boil”.

I know one guy who belongs to this “force”, the TSG. He told me well over a decade ago that he enjoys a good punch up at these “events”. He also gets very well paid. For him it’s a win win situation. The downside is that he must retire in a couple of years. He’s done brilliantly out of it. He’ll be on a good pension and will carry on his casual building job which he’s been doing due to the loads of days off he gets.

I know people who protested at the introduction of the hunting ban and who witnessed Police brutality. Not that I support hunting, it’s a sad person’s passtime IMHO. The point is that these country pursuits people are mainly affluent peaceful law abiders (unlike some of the “wing nuts” you get at demonstrations like the G20)

Demonstrating is a mugs game IMHO. Democracy? Hahahahahahahahaha Labour have banned democracy.

Too flipping right it was inadequate – in any other country in Europe, or for that matter the rest of the world the police would have had water cannon, CS and baton rounds!

yeh, for sho’. Those french folks are forever being beaten & wet! G20 protest is hardly the same as, for example, the stuff that goes down in Athens, now is it?

Zulu-Eleven is plod, iirc? His reponse is perhaps indictive of why it happened?

Genoa, 2001 for comparison. Clearly, we do not in any meaningful sense have an out of control fascist police force. This is a good thing.

Men and women with dreadlocks had their hair roughly cut off to the scalp. Marco Bistacchia was taken to an office, stripped naked, made to get down on all fours and told to bark like a dog and to shout “Viva la polizia Italiana!” He was sobbing too much to obey. An unnamed officer told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he had seen brother officers urinating on prisoners and beating them for refusing to sing Faccetta Nera, a Mussolini-era fascist song.

Ester Percivati, a young Turkish woman, recalled guards calling her a whore as she was marched to the toilet, where a woman officer forced her head down into the bowl and a male jeered “Nice arse! Would you like a truncheon up it?” Several women reported threats of rape, anal and vaginal.

Agreed its right an proper that these things should get looked into and dealt with, but the other side of the coin is then this when due to the amount of PC ness and redtape invovled people are amazed when nowt happens when they need the bill.

I suspect we get the Police force we deserve to some extent, I for one would not want the job at any price.