Police Crowd Control at the G20 Summit

from what we can see of those incidents in the videos i would say too much force was used...the officer in the first vid looked like some sort of psycho android from a movie....but remember police officers put up with lots of sh!te at times and imagine their(70 officers in Hi-viz) thoughts when surrounded by that baying mob of hundreds of protesters with their backs up against the wall, but they have training to deal with this stuff, the pushing(And death) of Ian Tomlinson is bad and sad to watch time and time again imagine what his family think when that footage is constantly in the press/TV everyday...he was not doing anything apart from walking slow in front of the police,wrong place wrong time and plus 1 trigger happy officer..., if it was me i would of kept well away on that day., i know he had just finished work and probably just wanted to get home...didn't seem like he done anything to warrant a push like that...was it an un-experienced officer ..?

All the TV shows about policing the nation....about all the pi$$ed up mouthy tw*ts they have to deal with every night in the town centres...why don't they (the gobby idiots) just shut up or move away when asked...? but thats another topic..!

anyway back to the op....looks like too much force was used in the incidents shown...at other times amazes me how much restraint is used by the uk police.

In the case of the girl that was slapped, she kept on coming back after she was told to back off and the PC lost it and he slapped her. There are other incidents of a policeman hitting a protester with his shield and of course you can only feel for the family of Mr. Tomlinson. He was merely going home from work and got caught up in all this.

I always side with the police in ANY country. They put up with so much $hit and it seems a thankless task... In the case of the G20 summit. These people did not go with guitars to sit and sing we shall overcome, the organiser was interviewed on TV a day before and he knew what the day would hold and sure enough it came to fruition and there was confrontation. It wasn't a peaceful protest.

By comparison the French or Spanish police are a lot tougher and frankly this is all much ado about nothing (apart from Ian Tomlinson). If these namby pamby whingers don't want to mix it with the SPG then don't take a day off work to protest about whale killing or nuclear weapons or whatever is the fashion on any given week. Best to stay at home and watch Loose Women and do the ironing.

Funny how they all came forward well after the event....seem to be popping up out of the woodwork with a bruise or two...i reckon there was more cameramen with cameras than protesters....agree a rowdy protest is no place for a lady.

Good old Max, where there's a claim there's Max. maybe he should be in the topic about leeches ?

westerby wrote:

beer monkey wrote:Funny how they all came forward well after the event....seem to be popping up out of the woodwork with a bruise or two...i reckon there was more cameramen with cameras than protesters....agree a rowdy protest is no place for a lady.

Funny how the lady in question is now represented by publicist, Max Clifford.

think some may well go to protests now just to get hit and make a name (and a bit of cash) for themselves.
Now if Mr Tomlinson didn't die on the street these storys would be very much in the shadows if at all.

Yes totally....they can't be turned into a force that would be frightened to act upon any un-rest, in fear of being taken to court, we wouldn't want pink police dogs would we..!!!..(just a bit of banter readers to lighten the load)...protesters know the score when they attend such gatherings...but only takes a few(organised..???) to make it become unruly.

In this instance I don't know but at the wapping riots The police had plain clothed officers pretending to be demonstrators staring trouble in crowds so they could wade in. I was there and I saw it on three separate occasions and saw the officers in uniform.

Today the Tamils are protesting in London. I hope plod behaves and doesn't push anybody too hard.

I'm gonna black up and join in.

Too late... Here's a nasty police type fellow kicking his leg out. Not sure if it is at a protester or if he thinks this is the Can-Can!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8007858.stm

There are rules and laws to deal with demonstrations!

Why do the police have to put up with ONE demonstator breaking the law??

I say enforce the law and if they resist subdue them,handcuff and arrest them!

It is the lack of strictness in enforcement that eventually allows protesters to take up mob tactics!

It is the phoney ''PC''crowd that propogaes the ''Nazi state'' theme that always seems to dominate and persuade ,when the laws are applied!

Attacking a police officer is a serious crime and if they would simply enforce and prosecute those that do it during protests,I think the ''mobs'' would not so readily form or even happen!