to think that dragging a disabled man out of his wheelchair is appalling behaviour?

[lowrib]

Protester Jody McIntyre - who has cerebral palsy - being pulled from his wheelchair onto the road by police at the recent protest.

.

Disgusting behaviour.

listen, I learned everything I need to know about the behaviour of the police in Nottingham in the 1980s and at Greenham Common. I understand the need to keep the peace, but the actions of decent police men and women are NOT reflected in this man's actions.
I imagine that any decent police officer, like any decent human being with any respect for others, would be appalled at this type of mindless violence.

Well according to the interview from BBC, Jody cannot mannourve the wheel chair on his own, he was being pushed by his brother (who was ignored by the police in the clip) at the time. If you needed to restrain him it would surely be fairly easy to prevent his brother from pushing the chair.

We live in a democracy Klaus. Where people are free to demonstrate against things they don't agree with. Which doesn't mean they should be bludgeoned/dragged from wheelchairs/kettled/charged with horses unless necessary. And having watching an awful lot of footage, there were probably more police behaving horribly than protesters last week.

and you can HEAR many many 'independent' bystanders SHOUTING at the police officer - e.g. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING????
I think that is fairly straightforward.

I am appalled by mindless violence but that is not what I am seeing, sorry.
I was at Greenham too and understand that there are some officers that are rotten and I fight everyday to combat this but sometimes you have to accept that actions need to be taken for good reason.

It's hardly policing by consent is it?

I don't consent to anyone being treated like that by an organisation who serves us.

what good reason, exactly? what threat was he posing, that needed to be counteracted by dragging a man from his wheelchair across the street? A man who can't in fact move his wheelchair by himself?

Moving someone out of the way is reasonable.

Sorry I don't take this "pity the poor coppers" nonsense.

The way the police deal with the crowds has a bearing on the outcome, and there's a lot of truth in the saying "there's never a riot without the riot police" IME.

I've been on many protests in my time, and the riot police do stir up trouble.

I'm not condoning violence - I have always protested peacefully - but I do understand that people get angry when they see their friends being brutalised by police - men, women and on occasion children - I've seen a 3 year old child in hysterics after being punched in the face by a policeman at a protest at a town hall - he was in his father's arms.

Pulling a guy from his wheelchair across the ground is inflamatory, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was meant to get a reaction .

I don't consent to anyone being treated like that by an organisation who serves us.

Serves us! are you joking, it serves the rich, the powerful, the well connected, the establishment always has.

"There is nothing brutal and inhumane about picking someone up and moving them to the side of the road (out of harms way)."

If you are then able to move, he has CP, he can't. I think they could have picked up the chair and moved him (wheeling it would have been far simpler). You cant move someone to the side of the road leaving them rendered immobile. That is inhumane.

I don't excuse that particular policeman MillyR and I was heartened to see the guy's colleagues pulling him off. I felt sorry for Jody McIntyre and I happen to think him a pretty good journo as he has done some inspirational pieces on Gaza. But I was saying that not all poice behaved like "scum" and not all the demonstrators either. There are plenty of decent cpos out there too. Sometimes they are damned if they do and damned if they don't what about 7/11 bombs many police were crticised for being too health and safety conscious and not dealing with casualties quickly enough. When I go to the airport I am afraid I am pretty releived to see the ared response team patrolling.

typos sorry guys am very tired

Roll over everyone. Lie down. Take your meds. Everything is being taken care of. Politicians know better than you. Police have a legal monopoly on violence.

It is ok. Do not protest, you may get hurt. The smart people know what is best for you and they will hurt you if you resist. It is for your own safety and benefit.

"There are plenty of decent cpos out there too."

Indeed there are. My SIL for one, who is a very moral person, and AFAIK, very good at her job.

But not all of them. Sadly there are plenty of morally corrupt police about.

When the police are caught on film treating someone like this, it's right that people are outraged - they can't be allowed to simply get away with it.

'Moving someone out of the way is reasonable.'

If someone was in a sit down protest and they were dragged away I can understand that, but this bloke didn't choose to be sitting down in a chair.

He might have refused to instruct his brother to wheel him away, and who knows, maybe he wanted to make the authorities aware that he has a voice and wanted them to hear him, but unless he was a threat to that officer I can't see any other circumstances where what happened is OK.

None.

@Ladybiscuit the true heroine of these demos was the sudent who pleaded with rioters (on the 2nd demo) to stop attacking the police van. Wwe need to see more people like that real students standing up to the mindless morons who want to smash burn and destroy.

student student sorry can't type tonight..

Aand lowrib I do agree with you on that , we need loads more like your SIL

I'm never relieved to see the armed response unit patrolling at the airport - where I grew up, people were shot accidentally by bored guards playing with their safety catch and then setting off their machine gun. People having guns - whoever they are - do not guarantee our safety.

I have been called a filthy slag and whore by police on a demo for talking to them. I have seen them deliberately jostle and shove people. I have seen them hit people with no provocation. And that photo of the policeman on horseback swinging his baton at the miners' strikes is burned into my retina.

So much as I like individual policemen and think they do a very good job, there is an animal quality to them en masse at protests which does not do them any favours.

scurry He was dragged across the ground. Able bodied people are given the opportunity to walk away, even if restrained whilst doing so.

Even if we say he did need to be moved and the wheelchair couldn't be moved, which seems unlikely, there were other officers there, two of them should have carried him instead of one dragging him on his knees.

I think it would be great if there were fewer heavy handed cops and more NUS stewards made up of faculty and students. The Police could trust them to handle it a bit more , but it still would not solve the problem with the militant hardcore just bent on trouble I guess.

First assault on Jody McIntyre (from 1:20)

LadyBiscuit, spot on, the Police like any other grouping has a mob mentality when put in a "fear" situation and responds with violence and spite. The difference with the Police is that they can get away with it.

LadyB another good point and the same animal quality comes out in some protestors too. It seemed very gladiatoral and sometimes these two elements are no better than each other. It makes me sad seeing all that agressive negative energy (on both sides) it is such a waste and if only it could be channelled into something good.