Police Violently Attack Halloween Party (sat night)
pissed off at police | 01.11.2004 11:02 | Free Spaces | Repression | Social Struggles | London
Below are some of the comments on one party noticeboard, pretty clear to see what happened from the number of posts... more pics coming soon
the party got busted, the OB were pigs and aving none of it, they broke into the building mashing a window, must of been a big one too and pushed everybody out by force leaving veichals inside and even those parked out side had to abandon there cars and were pushed down the road by repeted charges, not until the numbers had dwindled were we allowed back in but rigs were taken but we were promiced they wouldnt be destroyed or damaged and they would be given back in a day or two. if you can trust them I woulnt because I know they just obey orders and I know who gives them but the the gezzer in charge seem genuine so lets hope his word dosent get superseded....... a few people were beaten up by the OB and a few arrested, so this halloween the gooles and monsters were out ooooooh arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, what a bunch of party poopers
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I feel personally everyone on the outside acted brillantly. Its the first time i can safely say that the OB were not provoked nor pressured into any of the violent acts committed to those on the outside, they were the attackers, first time ive seen that. Quite disgraceful.
The change in attitude from non-agressive " Stay back", to violence seemed to occur within 5-10 of the chiefs arrival on site. From that moment on as aforementioned, i command of stay back was followed or in some circumstances came secondary to a dog attack. Not right.
The officers sent in to breach the building were animals though. Plain and simple.
There were easily enough people to have over-run the forces. I think everyone should be commended on resisting turning that into a full scale street riot, which easily could have happened in those circumstances. The concequences of that would have been far more dire.
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another poorly managed, violent outburst from the police. even before they started kicking off in a big way, they were randomly attacking small groups of people. Having been ordered to move, as I turned to walk off I got pushed by my head, almost knocking me off my feet, at which point he let his dog on me.
Later comments from the police of:
"We don't need one", when asked what reason they had for barging people down the street with dogs and batons.
and
"we are the law"
If any police officer would like to comment on what law was broken that justified randomly attacking people in the street for being stood on the wrong section of pavement, merely watching?
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u get footage of the fucker's in action then?
yeah and because of that he got a nasty whack on the arm, leaving a lovely baton imprint....
that was the worst thing i have ever seen.
i know it has been said before but people who got hurt really should make complaints.
how can they justify someone getting beaten up with a baton because they didn't get out the building quick enough when they weren't getting out the way for us to leave?
they couldn't make their minds up about which way they wanted us to go, so they kept herding us this way and that, then beating people again and setting their dogs on others, just because the raver got within a metre of the heavily geared up pig.
when they did finally let us in to get our stuff, some wanker tried to tell us we had to leave before we had gotten receipts for our sound equipment
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I'll upload some stuff in a bit.
In short, it's something to the effect of the largest balaclavaed grunt (incidently the one that later proclaimed "I am the law") rushing forward, swinging his baton at me, yelling "get that camera out of my face" and then swinging again at the camera in my hand.
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That was one of the worst evenings I've had.
They broke in through the window, charged the building, beat people and got their dogs to bite people, all for what?
People were running scared, no one knew what was going on and that included the police. They were up for a fight from the beginning. Forcibly hearding people out onto the street, at the end of Oct (it was fucking cold), with nowhere for them to go is just plain madness. Fucking crazy.
I'm going to make a complaint myself. I didnt get hurt, but I saw plenty of people who did. Slim - I saw the dog bite you. Hyb, I saw you get hit by Judge Dread.
I dont really know what else to say right at the moment, too many thoughts going round at once.
Oh, and the guy who got his head stamped on was outside after the riots. Not really sure what happened, but it was by all accounts nasty.
People need to complain, not one of us not two of us but all of us. Then things need to be talked about to ensure repeat performances are the norm.
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I still stand by saying that if you throw cans or punch a grunt you'll expect a whack back - but this was a unlawful shambles and I think certain officers realise that now the adrenaline has faded.
People that were attacked for no reason should write down their personal accounts of what happened now. Certain overzealous officers should realise that their actions in the heat of the moment won't always be white washed.
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Well, what a entirely shit night and sequence of events.
Never seen anything like that before and was totally shit-scared throughout. We weren't even given a chance to get out of our room without being pushed down the corridoor and then down the stairs.
Still can't believe some of the things I saw last night, and am totally shocked.
Surrey police - "reducing crime, disorder and fear" ..........................or perhaps creating it
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Bad doesnt even begin to describe last night.
There was nothing we could do. they either didnt know the law that they were meant to be upholding or they just didnt care.
Ive just seen the video's Hyb took and they make for disturbing viewing, especially the one of him being hit by Judge Dread.
People just didnt know what to do. Everything had to be left behind, they wouldnt let anyone pick up anything. Peeps were outside, getting pushed around by dogs and idiot handlers for hours.
Ive never seen so much violence and fear at a party in the 6 or 7 years I have been partying.
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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COMPLAIN WHAT THEY DONE TO PEOPLE WAS WRONG, IF PEOPLE COMPLAIN THE WHOLE INCEDENT WILL BE LOOKED INTO!
IT TAKES ALOT TO DISTURB ME AND I AM FEELING SHIT AFTER YESTERDAY MIXED EMOTIONS AND I FEEL VERY CONFUSED???
LETS BEAT THESE THUGS WITH THE PEN BURY THEM IN A MOUNTIAN OF PAPERWORK SOMEONE WILL BE MADE ACCOUNTABLE!
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That was proper wrong.
A war zone not a party.
First time i've seen the police attack without any provocation really, nasty business. Still shocked today.
Matey who got a pounding, if its the same one as i've been told, he was being a right dick. He was wrecked and i saved him from getting a further mullering from OB whacking him in the head with his shield. Geezer then turned on me and tried to attack me, someone was going to knock him out eventually.
I know for a fact outside, lots of video footage was obtained, especially of the 'sas' style entry into the building...
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This is my first post as I'm usually one of the silent ones, however the incident last night got me well and truly angst enough is enough!
Under no circumstances let there be any doubt about the Polices actions. I'm sickened by what I witnessed and back those who rightly encourage complaint towards Thames valley.
The Police had no respect for anyone including the girls who got shields in there faces and were later shoved around like trash. I saw all the incidents spoken of above especially the heavy handed approach toward the lad closer to the front line being dragged across the ground. I was griefed after being caught off guard after one of many riot charges, was thrown up against the fencing on the other side of the road from him. Two officers and an alsatian in my face for what.
!ABSOLUTELY NO NEED!
Totally aggressive, unprovoked and unessersary behaviour. They didn't have a clue what their strategy was in the first place....hence the brutallity and panic tactics we encountered.
I was inside when they stormed in like 'kin amatuers too. The building was immaculate until then!!!!!
We'll get the rigs back and fight to see another rave!
Don't worry. The OB must learn from this.
DO COMPLAIN. THE POLICE WERE OUT OF THERE JURISTICTION!
Until next weekend!
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Just been down and made my complaint, quite painless (no pun intended) took about 15 mins just the basics taken for now.
please complain!! heres what to do:
make a basic complaint in one paragraph
take this to your local station and quote incident number- URN 1650- 30/10/04
a sargent or inspector will then go through a form with you.
insist there scenes of crime people photograph any injory.
goto doctor/hospital ASAP get a writtn report about your injory
take your own photos
come home an write down the whole incedent with as much detail as possable
the police complaints will then contact you.
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not happy at all
without any warning or explanation I was showered with glass as a window just two arms length away from me was smashed through by the very same people who I pay to protect me from criminal acts.
I was also upset by the balaclarva heavy weights that were sent from the back through a line of stationary shield bearers to batton me when i was standing totally still asking why the building had been stormed and what was going on.
I was equally upset by having a dog set on me to bite my arm while i was standing still doing nothing. They shouted for me to move back after the dog had bitten me.
Last time i checked insighting a riot was illegal. This is why I started a chant of "no more violence" a number of times, as them then charging a peaceful protest is against our human rights. We were not pushing forwards or causing a disturbance and had made it known we were peaceful.
I hope someone listens to my complaint and reminds the riot officers of there job to protect innocent people.
ps. they have my van and 6 speakers and nothing else
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Did anybody get the name of the woman wearing a blue shirt (possibly from CID)?
We asked (quite carmly and politely I feel) for details of the law that was being invoked for the seizure of vehicles and equipment: to be told that there was some debate as to what the charge would be when it was raised (note future tense).
Certainly the first thing I knew was a shower of broken glass. No warning or notification was received. We were able to engage a very pleasant WPC assigned to stop us re-entering the lower corridor; who was, unfortunately, unable to be in communication with any superior officer - and unable to enligten us on the legal position whatsoever.
I need to mention the guy I think is being refered to here as 'Judge Dredd', a middle aged fat bloke hideing behind a balaclava indescriminately waving his batton about, barging into people with a shield he'd 'borrowed' from another officer whilst shouting obscene, offensive and derogatory terms. I don't recall any visual idenfication present on his lappels - which is my way of saying im 99% sure he was deliberately anonymous. I'm sure he's a very nice man when he goes back to his wife and kids, but the role the TVP had him play last night undermined and degraded the image of the force in the eyes of almost everyone present. I wonder if 'Neanderthal Man' is the new recruitment campaign slogan.
I am particularly interested in and photographic or video evidence of this character; with the intention of makeing him the focus of my official complaint.
I quickly disassociated myself from the mob and was repeatedly directed to wait in different places because there was nobody available to talk to at this time; and that when this 'situation' was resolved somebody would talk to me.
Meanwhile I was told that I wasn't, nor anybody on my behalf, able to reach in through the obliterated window and retrieve a coat or fleece; and with my request to sit in a riot van denied, no keys, no money and no option: I stood patiently in the freezing cold until somebody was able to speak to me.
We were escorted into the building to identify and isolate sound equipment - my primary concern at this time was the apparent disregard for damage to equipment; as it was being loaded [unsecured] onto flat back lorries. We were told repeatedly that Thames Valley Policy does not issue receipts and has not for 10 years - it's just a policy.
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What suprised me most last nite was the amount that was put up with by the people being pushed around, and for want of a better word, bullied by the officers in uniform outside. On numerous occasions I saw officers using their batons to push people out of the way, and quite often onto the floor, and dog handlers bark an order to move, and less than a second later releasing the dog (no time given to cooperate) (there was one particular handler doing this over and over and I REALLY hope someone got his number), usually without any provocation or reason, just standing in the wrong place.
Having seen on several occasions how this attitude from the police leads to enough violence for them to whitewash over the order of events and "justify" their actions. All I saw in the way of violence towards the police was 1 plastic bottle of water being thrown (which fell horribly short), and 1 officer being spat at (oddly it was the dog handler that kept setting his dog on people for no reason). I don't think there's any twist of events that can argue the level of violence being randomly dealt out by the police can be justified.
If you've been bitten, or baton'd, make a complaint, they are tools for DEFENSE, not hitting peaceful people in the street.
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Defeat may have been accepted gracefully by all in the past. However what we witnessed last night was a serious decline in cooperation by the plod. Basically our rights were non-existing end of story. They had one concern and it was almost like they'd go to any length in achieving that goal which of course they did. Brute force!
As you'll know in most cases they'd let us stage the rave till at least the next morning, once they could see we were already rolling and be reasonable about things. There was zero negotiation as far as they were concerned and that's not right is it?
I fear this attitude could be the shape of things to come from the OB, especially now that the govn't have eagerly awarded them more rights under the Sec.63 or ASBO???? (don't pretend to know shit about either btw)
so's to gain popularity with the old folk around the next election....they must fucking love it to!
They were on a proper power trip last night.
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wat a fucking shit nite! i cant beleive the way people were treated by the police, i have never see anything like that happend before im so shocked!!
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Two weeks ago in Reading 18 rigs decended on that warehouse, which backed onto a road packed with terraced housing and high-rise flats. There was coming on 150k + of sound in there. It rinsed the locals, and upset OB.
Two weeks later this occured in the same district. Am i right in saying ( correct me if wrong), that the police arrived on site and were not allowed into the building? the doors were blocked and all communication with the inside was done through windows etc..
Lets not beat around the bush and kid ourselves here, we all know that TVP absolutely hate parties in their patch, and have a past history of being handy with a batton.
I'd say the way in which they went about it was qutie unbelievable and something which i hope i never have to witness again, but considering their area got rinsed two weeks previously, they were i presume under serious pressure to act, they had an increasing crowd forming on the outside, and it just so happened that they had a extremely large force available at their disposal.
The assualt on the building itself, people are saying it seemed as though they didn't know what they were doing... from what i witnessed on the outside, it a very very quick entry, came from nowhere, bash bash, and they were in. With enough force to hold back the masses by the time we'd noticed.
They hadn't been in the building that evening, they had no real idea of numbers inside, nor the hostility of those inside as they hadn't been allowed to enter? ( again correct if wrong). So it leaves a very difficult situation for them. Answer? You send in the terminators.
We know that we are not threatening, but i really don't believe they think that.
It was a brutal operation, totally illegal, yet given their stance on parties, their history, and the rave 2 weeks previous........ TVP don't just stand about and laugh.
Final Point.
How do you issue a legal sec63 to the organisers/owners if there is no clear way of entering the premises?
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You're right mate. They didnt have a way in. Things were locked down. They had two options, stand about and laugh while letting us get on with it or come on in. I agree. At the same time, we had two options. Keep the doors locked and the old bill out, or shut down the party and try to leave without getting nicked/hassled. Given the situation and the people out side with nowhere to go we didnt have much choice here either.
However, to then batter someone inside for holding a camera (sooooo dangerous), push young girls about, set dogs onto people and generally shout abuse and bully everyone is totally out of order. Renegade coppers charging into buildings, armed, battering unarmed people (children and women too) just because they can is not fucking on.
It's that which I will be complaining about.
They still had a choice once they were in, but they chose violence and fear. I couldn't give a fuck what reputation they might have to be honest, they cannot pull stunts like that and get away with it. I'm not convinced my complaint will make a difference, but if it stops one copper from raising a baton at one raver in the future then it was worth it.
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Just got home from Tunnel Crew HQ were we licked our wounds and made a masterplan.
It was a bad night, but the worst was seeing two girls who are dear to me in tears over the events. Kiss
Too tired to go into in now, but tomorrow is another day
and we will not be beaten by lawless thugs (TVP)
One last thing:
I think the way peeps behaved throughout the night just showed what kind of people we are, and what kind of boar we are against. I can say I am proud of our behaviour even in the face of batons and dogs, sadly it showed how much TVP were lacking in the same area
Peace
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1st time ive ever seen the bastards turn out to something like this without the handicam that is the norm
every do ive ever been to they film whats goiong on and try and fim the faces in the crowds and that
BUT THIS TIME No
strange that, anyone would have thought that perhaps they didnt want any evidence to incriminate them
as it has become almost standard operating procedure to have video cameras there, does anyone else not find this unusual?
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Totally out of order police actions thruout, was shocked the way they forced nearly a hundred ppl outta of a single fire door with women screaming ect...................and what happened for the next couple of hourz after was shocking!
Hope all the rigz get returned safetly
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Okay some pictures and video are here;
![](/img/extlink.gif)
The videos are in order of appearance are;
1. Police breaking in (7mb).
2. Mr 'Dredd' striking two blows and proclaiming "get that fucking camera out of my face" (3mb).
3. Police pushing people to an internal room and then out of the building (14mb).
4. Both crowds together, facing police on the junction outside the building (7.2mb).
5. 'Dredd' and others forcing people down to the roundabout (1.4mb).
6. 'Dredd' again, explaining that we hadn't "seen excessive force yet" (1.2mb).
There's a couple of other bits after the last video, including someone's arrest - but then I grew a little weary of officers conferring and pointing at my camera (coincidences perhaps, but I wasn't taking any more chances) so gave it to someone else to look after and that's that.
All the videos are DivX5 which you can download from here
![](/img/extlink.gif)
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pissed off at police
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