Stop police brutality: Protesting is not a crime 16 Apr 5pm Scotland Yard

ACAB | 15.04.2009 15:42 | G20 London Summit | Repression | Social Struggles

PROTESTING IS NOT A CRIME.
PROTEST 5PM, THURSDAY APRIL 16TH
NEW SCOTLAND YARD
8 -10 BROADWAY SW1H OBG

police baton youth at Royal Exchange Buildings, 1st April

Map showing location of Scotland Yard

Called by Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity
Campaign, British Muslim Initiative and others.

The tragic death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests confirms what the Stop the War Coalition has been saying for some time; that the police's current attitude towards protest is confrontational, provocative and dangerous. In June 2008 the Metropolitan police banned and attempted to criminalise a protest at the visit of George Bush to London. They have since tried to bring serious charges against up to 20 participants. In January this year they brutally attacked demonstrators protesting against the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Since then the police have raided the homes of some of those that protested.

The tactics of forcible corralling - so called 'kettling', police assaults on overwhelmingly peaceful protestors and home raids on participants add up to to a major attack on the right to protest.

The Stop the War Coalition, the British Muslim Initiative and Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others have called a protest at Scotland Yard on Thursday April 16th to demand action on these issues.

ACAB

Comments

Hide the following 15 comments

Target TSG Buildings instead

15.04.2009 16:07

TSG operate from 5 locations in london, all officers that have been seen beating protesters are TSG.
this is the locations;
* 1TSG, Harrow Road, Paddington Green (Includes trained Firearms officers)
* 2TSG, Finchley
* 3TSG, Grove Road, Chadwell Heath
* 4TSG, Aitken Road, Catford
* 5TSG, Larkhall Lane, Clapham

Boozytortoise

Re: "all officers that have been seen beating protesters are TSG"

15.04.2009 16:38

That's not true, there's lots of borough cops, Sussex cops and City cops seen beating protesters too.

ACAB

Really?

15.04.2009 16:58

"The tragic death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests confirms what the Stop the War Coalition has been saying for some time; that the police's current attitude towards protest is confrontational, provocative and dangerous."

Hmmmm. Hasn't every event the STWC organised been in collusion with the police? Usually involving employing "stewards" to do the police's work them, telling people where they should walk, how they should walk, and when they should walk? Shouting at people for not doing what they are told? Then we are expected to pay for this privilege by donating towards the 'running costs' of the protest? Where have STWC been throughout the years of police brutality at repression at demonstrations?

Actions speak louder than words!

Mike

Sorry...suspended ones

15.04.2009 17:08

Meant the 2 cops that backhanded the girl, and the one linked to Ian Tomlinson. I know that every cop regardless has been caught doing it from every region.
I just think the TSG are the biggest thugs

Boozytortoise

attn boozytortoise

15.04.2009 17:31

TSG....that's not a nice thing to say about The Spice Girls....

Anyhoo...who took the video of that kid in the pic above being batoned.

sober turtle

New media line

15.04.2009 17:33

Though boozytortoise has corrected the wrong impression given in his/her first comment, it does seem to be the line now emerging in the MSM as more and more evidence emerges. There seems to be a progression from "one bad apple" to "one bad unit" (the TSG).

Those with grey hairs, long memories or old Lyton Kwesi Johnson albums will remember their predecessor, the SPG (Special Patrol Group). It was them who killed Blair Peach after a long history of violence and demands that they be disbanded. Eventually they were, in the aftermath of Blair Peach's murder. The SPG was sort of thrown to the lions as a sop to induce us overlook the fact that neither Inspector Murray nor any of his serial was ever prosecuted. "Not enough evidence", see. That's when the TSG was set up to replace the SPG. Then the FIT were added around 1996.

There may eventually be a similar "disbanding" of the TSG if enough shit is stirred. That would, of course, be a matter of same meat, different gravy -as before.

So, please do get ALL pics and footage of any of the 57 varieties of cops assaulting people up on here or other suitable sites as soon as possible.

Stroppyoldgit

blair peach anniversary

15.04.2009 18:28

30th anniversary of blair peach's death at the hands of the spg and the metropolitan police is very very soon.

23 april 1979 in fact....

sober turtle

video link - youth batonned

15.04.2009 18:35

It's on the Guardian site now, 2nd one down:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/15/g20-protest-police-videos-catalogue

ACAB

SWP, other forces

15.04.2009 18:39

Yes, it's an SWPSTWC called demo, but it's also a great opportunity for other people to get a different message across, there'll be a carnival of media, so anyone with a banner or a home-made placard should get down there and eclipse the swoppurtunists.

Half the cops in the attack on climate camp video are from Sussex Police - KB.

ACAB

from east

15.04.2009 20:53

24 Jul 2005 ... Met Police chief Sir Ian Blair has apologised to the family of the Brazilian man shot dead by police in south London on Friday

i mean wtf?

even after that all cops with mashine guns were aiming at anybody who's look they didn't like, then years of repression and brutality and still no or little sign of real action. I mean Britain get a grip or just forget about freedom forever , for it doesn't look good.

come on , even French are better in that :)

ps one little tip - don't say on internet what do you want to target - cops don't write comments here but they read and might prepare, so if you mean it, don't talk about it , you are not a little kid at school sir...

Ratamahatta

Very true mike

15.04.2009 22:42

I just wanted to chime in and agree with Mike's comment which i know to be true

George Coombs

Don't want to get beaten or arrested

16.04.2009 11:15

Do you think the police will allow an anti-police demonstration outside their main headquarters when they would not allow an anti-capitalist one in the City? Calling this demo is only going to get more people beaten and arrested. Why put people in more danger?

Former protester

Actually...

16.04.2009 11:20

Protesting often is a crime and the job of the police is to investigate/detect such crime and arrest those involved so that the courts can ascertain their guilt and decide what punishment would be appropriate. As an activist i am happy with that. My protests are often criminal and that's fine. I know the risks and take precautions, sometimes avoid arrest and sometimes courting it.

What is not fine is the criminality of the police, using unlawful force and violence against protesters when their job is supposedly to uphold the law. When they break the law they make a mockery of it - which is fine by me but then how can they expect anyone to respect the law at all.

Protests on the 1st April were criminal, they blocked roads and caused obstruction. Instead of beating people they should have issued warnings and then arrested them. Of course they couldn't arrest thousands of people so they beat them instead, standard procedure and completely endorsed by the state and the bosses. Now they've been filmed, twittered and youtubed killing somebody, the bosses are scapegoating the rank and file copper, saying they over stepped the mark and pretending outrage. But those cops are not to blame, they've always been encourage to do exactly what they did, to beat indiscriminately, to intimidate and terrify people into compliance.

Funny times when anarchists call on cops to obey the law.

proud to be criminal

Re: Proud to be a criminal

16.04.2009 12:28

In response to Proud to be a Criminal, I think you'll find if you look hard enough that criminality of the police is not confined to the policing of protests. A classic example, of which I have personal experience, is the use of physical violence in making an arrest followed by a spurious charge of assaulting a police officer. And who do the courts believe? Why, the police of course because the police never lie do they?
People haven't just died at the hands of the police at protests, but in police custody, in prisons following restraint procedures (including a 14 year-old boy) and whilst being arrested in their own homes or on the street. The police regularly use excessive violence and, as Ian Tomlinson's famiily now know, this can be extremely dangerous.
I think your argument is a very egocentric one - I am a protester but the world does not revolve around protesters. Ordinary people, like Ian Tomlinson, die at the hands of the police as well.
The police deserve utter contempt.

Bob

Change of tactics?

16.04.2009 13:49

I thought the Climate camp worked well - but how do we combat the kettling that we are forced to endure each time. Is it possible i.e. do we have the numbers to split a protest into fifty locations, will this be more affective and cause wider disruption. How can we better encourage small affinity groups?

Ivan Agenda