Policing - in brief (29)
01 August 2008
UK: Police attack anti-Bush protestors
Protesters calling for the war crimes prosecution of US president George W. Bush over his illegal invasion of Iraq were hospitalised when police launched a ferocious baton attack on them in Parliament Square on 15 June. The 2,500-strong demonstration was one of twenty that took place across the UK in protest at Bush's "farewell tour" of Europe and the London action was the Stop the War Coalition's (SWC) twentieth national protest. Despite the campaign's previous demonstrations being peaceful the police deemed it necessary to block off Whitehall with security barriers creating, in effect, a Baghdad style-"Green Zone" and batoning anyone who approached it. Commenting on the police action to prevent people from exercising their democratic right to protest outside the "mother of parliaments", the SWC supporter, Bianca Jagger, said: "Our civil liberties are becoming another casualty of the war on terror. I was born in a dictatorship and look with great concern at recent erosions of our liberties. At the demonstration today all I wanted to do with others was to peacefully deliver my letter to the prime minister. I was prevented from doing so and instead witnessed brutality towards the demonstrators." At their joint press conference Bush and Gordon Brown announced that more British troops would be sent to Afghanistan, that there was no timetable for the withdrawal of the remaining 4,200 UK troops in Iraq and that further sanctions would be imposed on Iran because of its nuclear energy programme.
Stop the War Coalition website: http://www.stopwar.co.uk
UK: Toni Comer's arrest "proportionate"
In December 2007 the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) ruled that "no South Yorkshire Police officers will face criminal charges in relation to an allegation of assault made by Toni Comer." The arrest took place in July 2006 and was captured on CCTV cameras which showed a police officer punching the slightly built Ms Comer five times; PC Anthony Mulhall admitting hitting her, but argued that he was merely attempting to restrain the teenager, (see
Statewatch Vol. 17 no 1). The IPCC dismissed Ms Comer's claims that she had been assaulted and that excessive force had been used in her arrest for causing criminal damage and concluded that the police actions were "justified and proportionate". Nicholas Long, IPCC Commissioner for Yorkshire and Humberside, said: "The CPS has delivered a quick decision which confirms our view that no criminal offences had been committed in relation to the assault allegations. The IPCC must consider now whether there are any disciplinary matters which need to be considered against any of the officers involved in the incident. I intend to make this decision quickly and at that point the findings of the IPCC's independent investigation will be made public." "IPCC Independent Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Arrest and Detention of Ms Toni Comer on 30 July 2006: executive summary" Independent Police Complaints Commission, available at:
http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/toni_comer_esec_summary.pdf
IPCC press release "IPCC Update: no criminal charges in Comer case" 11.12.07
France: Police collect deportation "air miles"
The French satirical magazine
Le Canard Enchan has revealed that French police officers accompanying undocumented migrants and failed asylum seekers on their deportation flights qualify for "Frequent Flyer" deals promoted by Air France and other airlines. "Considering that there are some 23,000 deportations annually and the fact that three officers usually accompany the migrant, this generates a considerable amount of free flights at the expense of illegal immigrants", the magazine writes. The Interior Ministry has confirmed the scam, Air France, however, declined to comment.
AFP, http://www.zeit.de