Those enjoying the regular open picnic were forced to leave Brixton Town Square today in a typically heavy-handed Metropolitan Police fiasco.
Sunny Winter's Day, Tasty Vegan Food, Anti-Social Behaviour?!?!
South London's very own "Food not Bombs" project - the Brixton-based "Reclaim Your Food" collective - today (Sunday 17th Feb) faced their first intervention by the Metropolitan Police.
The collective had their stall set up for roughly an hour when their allegedly criminal activities caught the eye of Lambeth's finest law enforcement officials.
Two white male police officers approached the collective and began to browse the selection of free leaflets and pamphlets offered. Whilst one of them (LX 412) appeared to be relatively disinterested in the actions of the suspected offenders, Officer LX 582 was significantly more aggressive and confrontational in his approach.
Whilst said officers originally appeared to be inspecting the proceedings out of a territorial sense of curiosity, 582 began demanding the names and addresses of people without any suggestion of what offence may have been committed or invoking any legislation confirming his right to do so.
Once met with a variety of "no comment" responses, 582 asserted that their small stall in Brixton town square was, in fact, an obstruction of the highway. When the legitimiacy of this application of the Highways Act was challenged, his concerns became for the health and safety of those consuming the food. Were activists in posession of the correct certificates? Then, when activists appeared bemused at the notion of a police officer to attempting to enforce Health & Safety law, it was briefly mooted that a Public Order offence was being committed. This supposed Public Order offence rapidly transformed into an excuse to use Anti-Social Behaviour law, allowing them to place a Dispersion Order on the group of apparently delinquent youths. Names and addresses were taken under threat of arrest, and backup called for.
The backup consisted of 2 Community Support Officers - LX 7268, 7133 and another 2 PC's - LX 284, 816 and (presumably) the Sargeant - **, topped off with Police Vans. Other officers arrived after the initial count, but did not have their numbers documented by those observing.
The Collective were ordered to disperse and prohibited under threat of arrest to re-enter the Dispersal Zone covering Brixton town centre for the next 24 hours.
PC LX 582 rather greedily helped himself to large volumes of the radical information available and, when questioned, claimed that he went "on more demos than you do". As he was not recognized as being part of the FIT Team, it could only be assumed that he was one of the dangerous hardcore revolutionaries on the Police Federation march.
All this whilst members of the public, some homeless, clamoured to get what was left of the free vegan food fest before it had to be taken away. Other members of the public documented the Police behaviour on camera and challenged the Police in support of Reclaim Your Food, whilst many more looked on in a mixture of horror and disbelief. Another passer-by was threatened with arrest for cycling on the pavement, a concerned mother also threatened with arrest in expressing distaste at Police conduct.
In the short time that Reclaim Your Food have been operating in Brixton (every sunday, from 2/3pm onwards), they have enjoyed growing support and participation, with people from many different walks of life expressing positive sentiments about the project, out on the streets, where it counts.
It is hoped that this project will not only continue, but grow in the face of repression by the state. In a society where property is sacred and profit divine, the Police have once again demonstrated whose side they are on.
Solidarity is the best weapon we have.
Reclaim Everything!
The collective had their stall set up for roughly an hour when their allegedly criminal activities caught the eye of Lambeth's finest law enforcement officials.
Two white male police officers approached the collective and began to browse the selection of free leaflets and pamphlets offered. Whilst one of them (LX 412) appeared to be relatively disinterested in the actions of the suspected offenders, Officer LX 582 was significantly more aggressive and confrontational in his approach.
Whilst said officers originally appeared to be inspecting the proceedings out of a territorial sense of curiosity, 582 began demanding the names and addresses of people without any suggestion of what offence may have been committed or invoking any legislation confirming his right to do so.
Once met with a variety of "no comment" responses, 582 asserted that their small stall in Brixton town square was, in fact, an obstruction of the highway. When the legitimiacy of this application of the Highways Act was challenged, his concerns became for the health and safety of those consuming the food. Were activists in posession of the correct certificates? Then, when activists appeared bemused at the notion of a police officer to attempting to enforce Health & Safety law, it was briefly mooted that a Public Order offence was being committed. This supposed Public Order offence rapidly transformed into an excuse to use Anti-Social Behaviour law, allowing them to place a Dispersion Order on the group of apparently delinquent youths. Names and addresses were taken under threat of arrest, and backup called for.
The backup consisted of 2 Community Support Officers - LX 7268, 7133 and another 2 PC's - LX 284, 816 and (presumably) the Sargeant - **, topped off with Police Vans. Other officers arrived after the initial count, but did not have their numbers documented by those observing.
The Collective were ordered to disperse and prohibited under threat of arrest to re-enter the Dispersal Zone covering Brixton town centre for the next 24 hours.
PC LX 582 rather greedily helped himself to large volumes of the radical information available and, when questioned, claimed that he went "on more demos than you do". As he was not recognized as being part of the FIT Team, it could only be assumed that he was one of the dangerous hardcore revolutionaries on the Police Federation march.
All this whilst members of the public, some homeless, clamoured to get what was left of the free vegan food fest before it had to be taken away. Other members of the public documented the Police behaviour on camera and challenged the Police in support of Reclaim Your Food, whilst many more looked on in a mixture of horror and disbelief. Another passer-by was threatened with arrest for cycling on the pavement, a concerned mother also threatened with arrest in expressing distaste at Police conduct.
In the short time that Reclaim Your Food have been operating in Brixton (every sunday, from 2/3pm onwards), they have enjoyed growing support and participation, with people from many different walks of life expressing positive sentiments about the project, out on the streets, where it counts.
It is hoped that this project will not only continue, but grow in the face of repression by the state. In a society where property is sacred and profit divine, the Police have once again demonstrated whose side they are on.
Solidarity is the best weapon we have.
Reclaim Everything!
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Comments
Hide the following 9 comments
Its normal.
18.02.2008 07:17
Whether to allow yourself to be arrested is a difficult decision but if you have no previous history it would at least give those cops plenty of paperwork to do and you would probably be let out in two or three hours without charge. Even if you are charged it might well be dismissed in court.
It is important to realise that the police are also used by the State to suppress dissent as well as combat criminality and if you are not actually a criminal the process is usually just one of intimidation without criminalisation. Of course, if you persist in exercising your right of free assembly and expression you will indeed end up being criminalised sooner or later but by then you will have gained a lot of experience which could prove useful in the future.
Itsme
none of this would've happened
18.02.2008 13:23
peoples republic of southwark
In solidarity.
18.02.2008 13:55
In solidarity
Birmingham FNB'er
FNB'er
how do i get involved with you guys?
18.02.2008 18:20
south londoner
trytochangeytheirmind!
18.02.2008 22:41
Maybe law has to start to change or allow doing things like that and more when is a subject of SOLIDARITY.
My question is: If people don't do things like that who will do it?...
I think policemen have to be worried in important things like killers, thiefs or try to help people who really need them... and not losing their time in that cases, as all we know their salaries are thanks of the population and what population needs is people who help people!
fooditsaright
Sound like LX 582
18.02.2008 23:37
S
support
19.02.2008 02:47
fly Posters
Some possibly useful suggestions
28.02.2008 20:23
A possible way to deal with this would be to rent a stall in the market, or ask a sympathetic community centre to let you use their space (a group of us did a FNB this way in Notts a few years ago).
Or you could avoid having an actual stall at all. Is it possible to serve the food on a movable table on wheels, I wonder? Or on cinema interval-style trays worn round your neck? Or could you set up on common land away from fast food outlets (eg. a park?)
The cooks could also hand out flyers saying that the food is offered 'at own risk'. It's sad, but we live in an age where people are obsessed with complaining and suing.
Good luck with this!
Ronny
London Soup Run Forum
08.03.2008 18:53
This is quite short notice but the next meeting is on Monday 10th March at 6.00pm.
Venue St Vincents, Carlisle Place SW1
Come out of Victoria Station and go down Victoria St. Carlisle Place is first on right. St Vincent's is on the right about 50 yards - entrance through double glass doors. It is upstairs from the Passage, a day centre used by people who are homeless.
More details on www.souprunforum.org.uk
best wishes from
Alastair Murray
Housing Justice/Chair of Soup Run Forum
Alastair Murray
e-mail:
a.murray@housingjustice.org.uk
Homepage:
http://www.housingjustice.org.uk