Watching the detectives

[ciphergoth]

Finally got around to watching the footage of two women being held by the throat, cuffed behind their back, and dragged to the ground for having the temerity to ask a police officer for their badge number. After which they were put in a cell, refused bail and not allowed to see their solicitor until the morning.

After which, of course, all charges were dropped.

They're barely even pretending that they're not using violence to dissuade people from trying to keep their behaviour legal - and now they've won legal restrictions on photographing and filming them, restrictions that film like this and the footage of the death of Ian Tomlinson clearly demonstrate the danger of.

I can't believe that the public can be distracted for weeks by footling nonsense like MPs fiddling their expenses. This sort of thing is by orders of magnitude a far greater threat to democracy than any duck house.

Comments

[djm4]

See also this story about apparent agent provocateurs at the G20 demo.

[aster13.livejournal.com]

Deeply shocking, and requiring of further investigation.

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely on this. It's far more of a threat to democracy than people padding expense reports is. I am really amazed that the dailies here don't work the outrage much harder on police brutality than they do - but in part I think it's so often because the "teeming masses" see it as a problem of the marginalized (extremists or the poor) and not of their sort, i.e. "that's what you deserve for being such a freak that you'd go protest against the government."

[self-etcetera.livejournal.com]

yes - WSS

[mooism.livejournal.com]

I thought it had been made clear that the police can't legally stop people wily-nilly from photographing/filming them under section 58A of the Counter-Terrorism Act; it has to be to counter terrorism.

So the police are breaking the law when they do this. It may take prosecutions to stop them from breaking the law, but still.

Am I wrong? Or are you refering to a different law?

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

The police were telling people it was illegal to photograph/film them even before this law was passed. This gives them the option to actually nick you for it, and then let you go when they decide you're not a terrorist.

[evil-c.livejournal.com]

This country is screwed up and thanks entirely to the previous PM and his mad ideas about these things.

Its all wrong, just so wrong.

[hukuma.livejournal.com]

I can't intelligently comment on British politics, but this kind of police behavior is common to many countries.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lj_sucks_/]

You give the man too much credit. It started back in the 80s.

The 1984 Police and Criminal Evidence Act introduced multi-day detention without trial.

The Interception of Communications Act in 1985 allowed the government to tap phones as much as it liked.

The Public Order Act of 1986 required that protesters give advance notice to police, and allowed police to ban protests.

The 1989 revisions to the Official Secrets Act made it possible to charge people with breach of the act without telling them what they did wrong, and removed the public interest defense, amongst other things.

Also in 1989, the Prevention of Terrorism Act allowed the government to declare organizations illegal, which meant they could then arrest you for belonging to those organizations. It also allowed people to be arrested and held without being charged with any crime, for up to 5 days.

Nobody cared then, nobody will care now.

[skibbley.livejournal.com]

I agree.
Often I listen to the radio and wonder if there is any news happening since they don't appear to want to let us know.

[fizzyboot.livejournal.com]

I can't believe that the public can be distracted for weeks by footling nonsense like MPs fiddling their expenses. This sort of thing is by orders of magnitude a far greater threat to democracy than any duck house.

Both stories emphasize that The Powers That Be are not on our side and not to be trusted. It's time for people to get together and organise to beat this sort of shit.

BTW, I'm involved with setting up Pirate Party UK -- I'm hoping to be elected its Campaigns Officer.