And another thing, Ma'am ...

A further thought on the previous post:

Here are four alleged offenders, and four responses by the police. See if you can match them up, using your skill and judgement.

Offences first:

1. Man, 47. Alleged offence: none. Walking away from officer at the time.
   
2. Man, 70. Alleged offence: failing to wear a seat belt and having number plates that did not conform to the regulations.
3. Woman, 59. Alleged offence: failing to give a breath sample (later dropped).
4. Man, 24. Alleged offence: stealing motorcycle from dealership in full view of police officers and riding away at high speed without crash helmet.

And the responses:

1. Struck from behind with baton and pushed to ground. Died a few minutes later.
2. Stopped on country lane by two police cars, car windows smashed with batons and bodywork kicked by officer climbing on car bonnet, while alleged offender still inside the car.
3. Dragged across floor and thrown violently into cell, causing severe facial bruising and bleeding.
4. Allowed to escape, out of concern for alleged offender's own safety.

Well, how did you do?

Is it me ...

... or are policemen getting more violent these days?

About a month ago I wrote a post on what can only be described and a nasty, unprovoked and unbelievably disproportionate attack by members of the constabulary on an old guy driving his Range Rover home along a country lane. Now we have this:



It is worth remembering that the slight female figure who is the subject of this appalling treatment is 59 years old, and was arrested for failing to supply a sample for a breath test (a charge which was later dropped and I am not surprised, seeing as she was asleep in a parked car on a country lane when apprehended). Was she lippy or awkward? We don't know, but even if she was there was no justification for the violence of her treatment.

I have some sympathy with Inspector Gadget, who posts in support of the officer in question. No doubt the man had had his fill of gobby chavs who 'know their rights, innit' spitting in his face and getting let off with a slapped wrist by some indulgent judge. No doubt the role of Custody Sergeant is a difficult and wearing one, and a long way from the Dixon of Dock Green image that many people still carry around. Perhaps the guy just reached the end of his tether and lost it. But, while that might be an explanation, it isn't an excuse.

If the victim had been a Burberry-clad teenager, full of smug arrogance and spitting at authority, I doubt if there would have been much of an outcry beyond the usual Left Liberal circles. Most people would probably have given a silent cheer. But this was a slim and (can I say this?) rather frail-looking woman, one year away from her old-age pension, whose crime (if such it was) was in failing to follow a routine procedure rather than one of lavish violence.

Are the police getting out of control? It's not as if this kind of thing is an isolated incident, or just a 'bad apple' any more. There's Robert Whatley, having his car smashed up before his eyes (indeed, with him in it) for failing to wear a seat belt. There's poor old Ian Tomlinson, no threat to anyone, who was walking away from a demonstration that he had no part in, was smacked from behind by a burly officer and died a few minutes later - an officer who, in spite of clear video footage, has walked free due to 'lack of evidence'.

It's getting frightening. It's not the violence. I'm not squeamish; I understand very well that "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."* It's the fact that these things have all happened, not in some dark alleyway or behind a closed door in a police station - they have been carried out in full view of cameras that the police knew were there. They knew their actions were being recorded, and they went ahead and did it anyway. That's scary.

And, of course, the victims were all harmless people who were not showing any aggression or resisting arrest. Soft targets.

* Orwell or Churchill: take your pick. Wiki.

A Rodney King moment ...

Follow this link to see something quite unbelieveable. (Sorry, can't seem to embed the video directly.)

Two police officers have been suspended after they were filmed smashing up a disabled man’s car while the terrified pensioner sat in the driver’s seat.

A 70-year-old man is stopped by police in his Range Rover in a country lane. The police tried to give him a fixed penalty notice for not wearing a seat belt, but he drove off. They followed him for 17 minutes and eventually he stopped, surrounded by police. So far, so predictable.

What happened next was astonishing. With no provocation, one policeman jumped on the bonnet of the car and started to kick the windscreen in, while another drew his baton and, after several attempts, smashed in the driver's window before dragging the poor guy out. All recorded on the video camera in the following police car.

It's the kind of reaction you might expect when a joy-rider, who has recklessly endangered the lives of many people and police during the chase, is finally caught. It was way over the top even for that, but in those circumstances might have been understandable. But this guy drove as gently as could be in his 'getaway chase'. He didn't even break the speed limit. He was hardly 'running from the law'. The police can't have been suffering from the red mist, unless it was something he said to them before he drove off ("your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries" perhaps?). It was pure, unadulterated, unprovoked violence, and shameful to watch.



And when it came to court, what was he convicted of? Not wearing a seat belt, failing to stop, and having tinted windows and number plate that did not conform to legal requirements.

Words fail me. He was fined £235 and ordered to pay £300 costs, which seems reasonable if a little harsh under the circumstances. I wonder if he will be billing the police for the thousands it will cost to put the Rangie right? Or for the trauma of committing a minor traffic offence and then being treated with Clockwork Orange-style ultra-violence? They were more patient and understanding with Raoul Moat.

And some people think the police ought to be armed? That would keep me awake at night.

The policemen concerned have been suspended from duty, which is something. But then, after the exoneration of Simon Harwood, it wouldn't surprise me if they were back on duty before long, with a lot of sniggers and back-slapping in the canteen.

The officers concerned should be sacked in disgrace, and the video showed to all new recruits as an example of what can happen when public servants think they are above the law.

EDIT: I have just watched the video again, and saw something I missed the first time. As the assault (can't call it anything else, really) is taking place, a car drives past. The driver appears to see the incident and stops. He gets out and walks towards the police officers. One officer walks to block his progress, and then bundles him back towards his car. The man is clearly not connected with the police, and I imagine he is a concerned passer-by. His presence was not welcomed by the officers. That doesn't look too good, either.