G20 protest police assault

[endless psych]

I don't entirely agree with the G20 protests mainly because they seemed to be more a nebulous outpouring of anger towards financial institutions and more about reinforcing the idea of bankers as global bogeymen rather then serving any real, tangible, political purpose.

However when stuff like this occurs I'm more then willing to jump into paranoid ramblings about the police only being their to protect the rich...

Dramatic footage obtained by the Guardian shows that the man who died at last week's G20 protests in London was attacked from behind and thrown to the ground by a baton–wielding police officer in riot gear.

Moments after the assault on Ian Tomlinson was captured on video, he suffered a heart attack and died.

[LesMTS]

Just saw that footage on the news. Outrageous. He was clearly absolutely no threat to the police at all, walking (shuffling, more accurately) away from the police and one of them just runs out and shoves him to the ground.

[endless psych]

It's all a bit playground bully really.

[I'm Your God Now]

Fucking Hippies.

[triggerhappy]

I just saw the footage too, absolutely unbelievable.

[Semprini]

Reckon they'll try and cover it up, de Menezes-style?

"We have been unable to identify the officer concerned..."

[crazydiamond85]

the pig will no doubt get away with it, wont be able to identify him from the video or some pish like that

[endless psych]

Stories floating about the blogosphere saying riot police were taking off their numbers so as not to be identified.


CCTV was also turned off...

[supernothing]

Reckon they'll try and cover it up, de Menezes-style?

They already have! Press releases saying the police were trying to save him while being pelted with stuff, etc.

[LesMTS]

They already have! Press releases saying the police were trying to save him while being pelted with stuff, etc.

To be fair, there was just footage on BBC news of exactly that situation. Him lying on the ground, a semi-circle of police guarding him, police medics attending to him, and the crowd throwing bottles at them.

[The Butcher]

it's a blatant assault for which nobody shall be held accountable.

[supernothing]

The "crowd" were no doubt agent provocateurs, veterans of the miners strike.

[LesMTS]

The "crowd" were no doubt agent provocateurs, veterans of the miners strike.

Do you really think it's as simple as: police wretched, protesters noble?

[endless psych]

The "debate" in such things always runs the gauntlet of becoming two oppossing camps one decrying the protesters and the other decrying the police.

Although the polices response is perhaps to be expected, most of the things I've heard coming from people at the protest (perhaps not the most reliable of sources) seem to suggest they were at best heavy handed.

That and personally I hold to the premise that being a member of the police/armed forces/any organisation with the power to detain other people should be held to a far higher standard of accountability then the general populace. So in terms of them as human beings no its nowhere near as simple as police wretched and protesters noble but considering the role and responsibility of the police force... It edges perhaps towards police wretched, minority of protesters also wretched...

(Afterall even if only a few police officers are being heavy handed and treating protestors unfairly in principle their more fair minded collegues should be reining them in)

[supernothing]

Do you really think it's as simple as: police wretched, protesters noble?

Aye man, nobility personified