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Demo Against Police Harassment at Bristol CID (report)

BristolAnarchist | 18.11.2014 12:15 | Policing | Repression

Last month a statement was released about police harassment in Bristol and the South West -  https://bristolabc.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/statement-against-police-harassment/ . On Saturday, some anarchists in Bristol decided to pay the police a visit of their own...

(for advice on dealing with police harassment, please see this guide -  https://bristolabc.wordpress.com/defendant-solidarity/police-harassment/ )

Badgers at Bristol CID HQ
Badgers at Bristol CID HQ

"Spotter Card" of police suspected of harassment
"Spotter Card" of police suspected of harassment


Around 20 local anarchists, friends & badgers visited the HQ of the Bristol CID & Special Investigations at Sir Kenneth Steele House on Feeder Road in Bristol last Saturday 15th November. Officers operating from there have recently been visiting people’s homes and workplaces, harassing and putting pressure on local activists, musicians and their friends to become informants for the police. As a response, it was decided to turn the tables and start asking some questions of our own.

Armed with police style spotter cards displaying some of the ugly faces of Big Brother, our investigations began in the car park as decidedly nervous looking CID operatives arrived for their dirty work. Our unannounced presence seemed to produce a sort of mild panic for the first officer on the scene. All requests for “A friendly chat” and information on “shadowy figures stalking people and harassing communities” were met with a stony and awkward silence. Interestingly, they didn’t have anything to say on the matter and most stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact and going No Comment all the way. We could only conclude that they were feeling the pressure and had something to hide. The CID photographers were visibly nervous and especially camera shy but found themselves in a few photo opportunities anyway.

Deciding that our investigations could go no further today we left the premises. Soon afterwards armed police, dog units and a lot of agitated cops arrived, playing catch up and blocking the street. After a brief show of the sort of over reaction they’re well known for and what we pay our taxes for there was a stand off around the theme of “Give me your details”, “No!” “Well then we’ll arrest you”, “No you can’t!”. Once they realised we knew the law and were standing our ground the disgruntled police backed down and skulked off. Satisfied that our investigations had rattled a few cages we adjourned for refreshments and to plan further lines of enquiry… and solidarity!

BristolAnarchist

Comments

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Well done.

18.11.2014 13:52

Good effort! Especially on not giving details under such pressure.

@

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O dear

18.11.2014 14:16

Not quite what you described here was it ? You stood on the fire escape while Toby took some photos then you ran away

Marc

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Marc, you little rotter :-)

18.11.2014 15:16

Bristols junior anarchists and on line heroes have little excitement in their lives and fewer opportunities to claim any victories so letting the world know that Toby and James did little more that run into a carpark, take a snap then run out is not going to do their credibility any good down at the Kebele social centre is it ?

Naughty old you !

Bristolian

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Do not troll the feeds!

18.11.2014 15:40

Normally takes state trolls a little longer before they start spreading weird disinfo on Indymedia comments. This protest must have pissed them off :)

Btw, is it just a bad photo or does Andy Bevan have a broken nose?

Anon

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Don't you rozzer lovers have online forums of your own to gripe on?

18.11.2014 15:51

Responding with armed police and a dog units? Yeah it definitely seems like the filth didn't see much of a threat to 'junior anarchists' asking questions. fucking state cowards.

Bristol ACAB

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"armed police and a dog units"

18.11.2014 16:10

LOL !

In your dreams little boy. This whole little story of yours would have been stretching credibility to the limit already based on your last confrontation with a copper, "No sir, my dad will pay any fine" but you were screwed as soon as Annie decided she was pleased to share the full detrails with the rest of us via BBM about ten minutes after it happened !

Marc

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Question for Toby

18.11.2014 16:21

So Toby any comment on why your commitment to Anarchism was strangely lacking when you were offered ten days skiing in Meribel for a special deal last year ?

Was you staying at the Alpen Ruitor another example of your "anarchist credentials" ?

Any reason you failed to mention the trip was partly funded by that law firm your brother works with ?

Bristolian

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Question for Matt Ford

18.11.2014 16:41

Why does your head look like a bowling ball?

Bristolian

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Sorry

18.11.2014 16:44

Sorry if I'm being a twat I'm really really high thats the last time I take anything that's been in the confiscation bin back at the station

Marc

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O dear

18.11.2014 16:50

Posting as me and insulting some random copper to try and deflect attention from your fantasy of giving it to the man ! Why not use this as a platform to tell the truth about this load of rubbish and your dual lifestyle of radical anarchist / ex- public school boy waiting for a place at Schroders as soon as mummy's brother sorts it for you ?

We know who you are, we know who your parents are and we know what you will be doing on The Downs next Saturday so stop posting crap like this and stop pretending to have any connection with anarchism, its aims, the anarchist movement in Bristol or any of us. In fact just go away.

Bristolian

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Anarchist activity in Bristol

18.11.2014 16:57

If people want to know more about the thriving Anarchist scene in Bristol and less about the Playstation fantasies of the knob who wrote this post why not take a look here

 http://bristolaf.wordpress.com/upcoming-anarchist-events/


Bristol AFed is part of the UK Anarchist Federation. The Anarchist Federation is a growing organisation of anarchist communists in England, Wales and Scotland which formed in 1986. It is made up of individual members and local groups who are politically active in many workplace and community struggles.

The UK Anarchist Federation is affiliated to the International of Anarchist Federations, which has member federations in thirteen countries and connections with anarchist groups in many more. In 2012 some of us from Bristol went to the St Imier International Gathering in Switzerland, and met up with thousands of anarchists representing groups and networks from around the world.

We don't waste our time posing outside police station fire escapes or claiming confrontations where none exist, we work in the community to make the world a better place.

check us out !

One of the Bristol Anarchist Federation lot
- Homepage: http://bristolaf.wordpress.com

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Bristolian, please talk to us

18.11.2014 16:59

Bristolian you appear to know a lot about Bristol anarchists. None of the information you have mentioned here matches the descriptions of anyone we are aware of. If you would kindly come to Kenneth Steele house this week I would be more than happy to take down any additional information that you have.

PS
My head does not look like a bowling ball. Its more like an egg, actually...

Matt Ford

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RE @ 'One' of the Bristol Anarchist Federation

18.11.2014 18:43

Seems funny you talking about the immaturity of the demonstration against police harrassment didn't the group you claim to be a part of already sign the statement made by bristol groups?

Here's some advice for the IMC mods, close the comments section for this article. The wankers from the state posing as 'anarchists' have had enough fun for today. They just don't like the fact that they haven't been able to arrest anyone for the arsons because they're a useless bunch of arseholes who clearly don't have a fucking clue.

Bristol ACAB

Good stuff...

18.11.2014 19:07

It's always good news when you read an article where folks are giving the cops a taste of their own medicine. keep up the good work. even funnier is the Avon and somerset police reponse to the briistol anarchist bookfair post on this their facebook page hillarious stuff

 https://www.facebook.com/bristolanarchistbookfair

'Amanda Frame' lol surely thats gotta be a joke name right?

Sally Ingleby

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@ Bristol ACAB

18.11.2014 20:21

You want to believe this made up crap knock yourself out mate, no skin off my nose. Want to think the people commenting her are cops ? Go right ahead. Some of us are trying to make Bristol a better place to live, work and retire while idiots like the one who posted the original report here are more interested in reinforcing their fantasies about fighting cops.
The fact that that one of those who was involved with this ?action? is a serial fantasist with history of doing this should tell you everything, it does me.

One of the Bristol Anarchist Federation lot

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Jog on

18.11.2014 20:36

Good grief, what a right old bun fight !!

Anybody active in Anarchist or radical politics over the past two years in Bristol and the West Country has become used to the bandwagon jumpers claiming their involvement in the real actions that have taken place in that time. There are people out there fighting the State and getting results however there are also people like this who run up a flight of stairs have their picture taken and then claim "armed police" responded to that. Utter fuckin' fantasy.

On this occasion the people involved have been caught out big time because a known and trusted activist was aware of what they had done as well as what they had not and shared it via social media with a number of others. Posting it to IMC has just made them look all the more pathetic.

Roll on their next glorious action, we wait with breath baited

Have a good one everybody and stop taking these people too seriously, they aren't worth it.

Stay safe.

Neil

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trolltastic disinfo

18.11.2014 21:37

For anyone with first-hand knowledge of this action and the wider context it's really clear that someone is trying to start a flame war here by spreading a lot of bullshit, disinfo and half-truths around. Don't take the bait.

Seems like maybe we really did rattle some cages at CID. Or it could be a coincidence that this particular thread is the one currently swarming with trolls.

anonymous

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Re :anonymous "

18.11.2014 21:57

I think you are missing the point, this is not about trolling it's about a few tosers who are making shit up and claiming it as an action. The event as described never took place that is 100% known by serious people in Bristol. Talk to anarchist fed people for confirmation.

Wiser old head

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This is a fake post

19.11.2014 05:17

There were some additions to his post yesterday that made clear this was a fake post, the confrontation that is claimed here never took place and the people involved are neither Anarchists or even activists. It is a shame that a mod chose to remove those posts clearly because they want to give the impression that this was a real protest against Bristol cops. We lack credibility when things like that are done.

Bristolian

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Time it is a wasting

19.11.2014 12:52

If people spent more time actually doing stuff to fight the pigs and destory capitalism rather than taking photos of themselves on a pissing staircase we might be able to change this country ?

Many people in Brostol know who these jokers are and we know very well they had no run in with the pigs so it's really annoying to see them getting coverage here, come on mods take down this horseshit asap.

streetboy

not a fake post

19.11.2014 14:08

Ignore comments stating that this action didn't happen.

It did. Someone obviously has an interest in convincing you that it didn't.

If in doubt about who to believe, feel free to contact any of the well-known, well-respected local organisations which signed the anti-repression statement a month or so ago.

Note that BDS / Bristol ABC (looks like they share a website) have a copy of this report on their site:
 https://bristolabc.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/action-report-back-at-ya-police-harassment/

__

Spread the word on social media...

19.11.2014 16:20

..and basically any part of the internet that isn't set up to allow police and pro-police trolls to try and derail this important news.

It's already spread like wildfire on twitter and facebook - keep sharing. Don't link to this site cos we all know the cops and their mates like to lurk around here, just right click and save the two pics and copy the text then post on your own blog, wesbite, facebook page, twitter account or even printed zines!

Reaction to this on social media has been overwhelmingly positive - not just UK anarchists but anarchists everywhere on the planet stand in solidarity with both above ground and underground Bristol anarchists - stay strong comrades, we're all with you!

Anonymous

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