...to think that the policeman at the G20 protest wasn't being unreasonable?

[Naetha]

Is it just me, or do other people think that the media furore over the female protestor who got hit with the baton has been blown all out of proportion?

The woman aggressively confronted a policeman at a generally violent/aggressive protest (certainly not a passive, non-violent demonstration) several times, when the policeman was already being confronted from two other directions by other angry protestors. The first time he pushed her away, she came back, the second time he backhanded her (not particularly hard), she came back and then eventually he used his baton.

Is it just me that thinks he was just doing his job in keeping the peace (which this woman was trying her hardest to disrupt) and shouldn't be made a scapegoat for this media farce?

People who talk about this as police brutality make me laugh - look at Myanmar, Thailand, South Africa, Haiti, even the US. This is nothing.

That's a really moving post Schoolgirl, the bullying sounds atrocious. You have a very dignified and articulate style of writing - she was probably jealous.

but it doesn't matter whether she was the worst person on Earth - it's simply not tolerable for police officers to use unwarranted violence. It's something we can't and must not compromise on for the good of everybody, good and bad. And he wasn't punishing her, for being an obnoxious cow or for bullying you or anything else related - he hit a member of the public, which is illegal and wrong.

It's a bit like opposing the death penalty - people who favour it assume that its opponents must be pathetic wooly-minded bleeding-heart saps who feel sorry for child-killers. That's no the point though - judicial killing says something about what we stand for as a society - it affects our self-image as a people and as individuals every second we remain complicit in the regime. I see police brutality in that light.

BUT it must have been stomach-turning to see the nasty cow lapping it up on TV. I think I would have put my foot through the screen

OP, cant see where youre logic stems from with this. As I posted elsewhere, protesters like this women go with the territory. Neither do i agree that expecting the police to 'keep their cool' (im paraphrasing is 'a big ask'; NO it is a bloody MINIMUM REQUIREMENT of public order policing! The real debate isnt really (directly) about what posters here cinsider to be reasonable or unreasonable, but whether the action takenn was lawful or unlawful. No?

Aww thanks Greeny right back at ya btw!

I just feel so torn for all the wrong reasons. My personal experience shouldn't colour my views on this, I know that. What that police officer did was wrong wrong wrong. But you're so right - it does turn my stomach to see her plastered all over the TV and web. Guess I should turn off the TV/PC and do something less boring instead

With all due respect Schoolgirl, it doesn't matter if she was the most hateful cow all her life... he still had no right to hit her.

I've been reading this thread and posting on another one on exactly the same subject - and I cannot BELIEVE how many women are defending this police officer.

Like I said somewhere else - it makes him no better than some fucker lamping his missus one on a Saturday night after a few pints of Stella.

But it's ok, apparently, because he was a bit provoked

You're misunderstanding Serendipitous - I'm not at all justifying the police officer's actions. In fact, until I knew who she was, I've been ranting daily to DH about how dreadful the police behaviour was as a whole.

I guess my own experience just stopped me in my tracks. I kind of wish I hadn't shared it here now as I've kind of commandeered what should be an objective discussion to have a rather selfish venting about events from 20 years ago

Just for the sake of clarity - I do not agree with police brutality in any shape or form - even where annoying cows are concerned!

SH, dont get me started on my soapbox about that 'provocation' red herring that's being bandied about! Provocation should have no place in policing tactics; surely these officers should be able to withstand provocation? Is is not expected and part of the territory when policing a demonstration? What I hate most is the way provocation is being used in a way that implies that it is somehow the same or akin to self-defence.

No, I haven't really made myself clear. I know you weren't condoning the police actions at all, honest. And I believe you when you say she was vile at school - I just wanted to mention your name so that you wouldn't think I was singling out your post

It's not you. But it is a lot of other people

I bet it's really strange to see someone you know in that context as well.

LonesStranger I have spent all night discussing this topic with various people and have ended up like this

EXACTLY. WHAT. YOU. SAID. If the police can't temper their reaction, why are they any different than a common thug?

Schoolgirl, please dont apologise about sharing your experience. I am so sorry that your bad memories were stoked in this way. I, for one found that what you described adds a real dimension about the victim and how situations can be staged to project a particular image. I took her at face value and your post made me take a step back and remind myself not to take everything I see at face value. I can see how the two-way media exploitation is in operation in this instance. Doesnt change how I feel about the actions of the police, but highlights how easy it is to exploit and manipulate situations for personal and financial gain. Sad.

OP, YABU. Another unarmed civilian is dead, and Met officers are covering their numbers and battering people in the street.

The rules are simple:*

1. Never hit a woman (for women: don't hit anyone smaller and weaker than yourself).

2. Never cross a picket line.

3. Always get your round in at the bar.

That's the law where I come from.

• Taken from a quote by someone out of Belle and Sebastian, but he was only elucidating the previously unwritten law.

What's really weird is that even though I hate her, I'm really at all the fb groups that have sprung up and some of the comments on the articles on the incident are quite hair-raising as well.

I do wonder if responses would be somewhat different if the footage had been shot in, say, China or Iran or somewhere else more well-known for human rights violations...

Fulltimeowrking mum, I haven't met so many chickpea eating chavs tbh

And I'm sad that my hard earned money is oaying for people to behaving like that policeman... there are other ways of subduing somebody. Not a slap in the face and a whack on the legs

as i said before- the officer has been suspended, as has the officer who hit the man trying to get home- and he died

it has taken alot of media and family opressure to get the second post mortem on tomlinson- the first one was so obviously fabricated in the light of the second one. Abdominal haemorrhage is hard to miss.
Shame on them and shame on you and the OP.

here

Please watch it again. And someone explain to me how she deserved it.

surely i didn't see the police being aggressive first?

i am a nurse, a 'public servant'!

i get spat at, sworn at, chased by a 20 stone psychotic man when 30 weeks pregnant, hit with walking sticks, verbally abused etc

i've never reacted or hit/swore back because i'd get the fucking sack, and what sort of human being would i be if i did?

the police get a whole world of shit from the people they're supposed to be protecting, but his reaction was brutal.

Thank god for you joosey

Serendipidous - I just watched that link..

Oh my go - well, well out of order, and extreme brutality. Totally uncalled for.

Just watched some of the other links, and felt physically sick. One made me cry.

How can they get away with behaving like that? Those people were doing nothing wrong. Sick.

My DH is a PC & has said himself he can't see why the woman in question wasn't just cuffed & taken in.

It frustrates me that one bad (or probably very stressed) apple causes people to think all police ar like this which isn't the case.

DH has been involved in many different incidents over the years, he has been spat at, bitten, hit, sworn at, had things thrown at him, had people try to tackle him, been called the most offensive names, has had to have a tetnus (sp) shot & seen some truly awful sights & so far during his entire career has never actually used his asp - drawn it a few times yes just incase but never used it - he uses his CS gas instead if need be.

Sorry waffling on here - what I'm trying to say is whilst I think a lot of this has been blown out of proportion I think the officer in question could have dealt with this differently.

MrsMagooo - the problem is he isn't one bad apple, he was one of many, many police officers that day behaving violently and assaulting people, covering their numbers so they couldn't be identified, acting like thugs. The barrel is rotten.

Ok so it was more then one - my point is still the same.

we counsel women on MN who have been the victim of domestic violence to leave, but we are prepared to accept the custodians of law and order can hit / strike/ beat with impunity, especially if provoked?

what a load of crap

but i do not believe all police officers are represented by this reprehensible few

I agree with that point that the reprehensible few are not representative of the police force as a body. Any more than the reprehensible woman in this case is representative of genuine peaceful protesters.

The PC in question is quite rightly suspended and up for investigation. The woman should have been arrested and charged. But instead running to Max Clifford and trying to money from it.

Fecking distasteful all round.