This Indymedia report is a frightening account of violent assaults by the Metropolitan Police, resulting in injuries to two prominent pacifist demonstrators in Whitehall outside of Downing Street - Brian Haw, who was led away with blood streaming from his face, and Steve Jago.
Image via Terence Bunch
without warnings the territorial support group moved in and began violently pushing and man-handling people to the pavement. one young woman was grabbed round the throat and dragged. others were pushed from behind. brian was miving backwards towards the pavement with a camera to his face when officer U1019 lunged at him deliberately and without provocation. the blow was aimed directly at brian's face and pushed his camera into his cheek causing a deep wound.
There is an approx. 8 minute video clip edited from one of the many video and other cameras recording the mostly peaceful protest which has been uploaded to archive.org.
No doubt there is other video and photo evidence witnessing the violent actions of PC U1019.
A note for for our regular Metropolitan Police, Home Office and Downing Street spin doctors and the "intelligence" gatherers who monitor this website:
There is almost certain to be official complaints to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Metropolitan Police Authority about this unnecessary violence.
How can you criticise, say, the brutal Governments of Burma or Pakistan or Zimbabwe etc., without the counter charge of hypocrisy, as they will be able to point to this incident of political Police violence against peaceful demonstrators outside of Downing Street ?
Please ask your members to jpin the facebook group - Repeal SOCPA so we may crystallise and disseminate this information.
Your photograph of Brian Haw has prompted me to use yor site to raise an issue about the behaviour of the Metropolitan Police and indeed other forces.
My son is passionate about animals rights and demonstrates peacefully and legally in support of his cause.
He has been arrested many times and on all occasions the police seem to be prepared to lie. Fortunately he and his fellow demonstrators try to video everything that goes on because this evidence clearly shows that the police are prepared to lie and without it injustices would almost certainly prevail. When confronted with video evidence all the police have to do is drop the case,they suffer no retribution for having been prepared to lie.
On an occasion in October eleven police officers, uniformed and under cover, turned out to disperse three demonstrators outside a shop selling furs. On the most recent occasion (7 Dec 2008) they deliberately broke my son's camera by stepping on it and held him for about eight hours. What on earth can we do to stop this abuse of power?
Is this the Alan Buttle now banned from demonstrating because of his repeated yobbish behaviour?
If so the answer lies with yourself - although it may be a little late now.
From the tone of the reply I suspect that Keith is a police officer. There has been plenty of recent publicity to show that the police do not like protesters or demonstrators regardless of the fact that what they are doing is within the law. Fortunately Alan had video evidence to prove that the police officer was lying and the court found in favour of Alan. He was awarded a sum of money by way of compensation and not, as suggested above, banned from demonstrating. In court the police officer, despite all the evidence, stuck to his fabricated story. I think the footage of a police officer pushing a man to the ground and of another striking a woman is clearer evidence of who is behaving in a yobbish way.