CCTV of Police punching woman

rts
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Story here for those who haven't heard about it.

Simple question, curious as to your thoughts. Is the issue that someone resisting arrest was punched my Police Officers, or the fact that she is black?
Dr Lobster*
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how many bullets does it take to kill a brazilian?

how my punches and fully able-bodied men does it take to subdue a lone women?

i'm divided as to whether this is a racial issue or not, it's hard to tell without dialogue and context but it does seem to be hugely disproportionate amount of force, on newsnight the officer responsible said that he hit her with all his force in the arm several times, that seems impossible to justify especially given he wasn't alone and she was unarmed.

perhaps the biggest issue is not one of racism but that a number of people in the police force use the job as a way to legitimise their innate thuggery upon anybody who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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marksi
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Dr Lobster* wrote:perhaps the biggest issue is not one of racism but that a number of people in the police force use the job as a way to legitimise their innate thuggery upon anybody who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She had been caught vandalising a car. To be honest I don't have a problem with anyone who had been caught vandalising other people's property getting a thump.
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Sput
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Of course, you have to bear in mind just *how* annoying pissed women can be!
Knight knight
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marksi wrote:She had been caught vandalising a car. To be honest I don't have a problem with anyone who had been caught vandalising other people's property getting a thump.
Yes - the most annoying thing about vabdalism is that people are so rarely prosecuted for it yet it is incredibly widespread. even when they are caught, the punishment is usually just a fine to the value of the damage. and clearly this girl is squeezing this saga for all it's worth, so her vandalism hardly gets a look in (she is, instead, universally pitied).
But it's still plain irresponsible for the police to behave that way, and the regular reports of police malpractice do nothung to strengthen the already frayed bond between the authorities and the public.
Dr Lobster*
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marksi wrote:
Dr Lobster* wrote:perhaps the biggest issue is not one of racism but that a number of people in the police force use the job as a way to legitimise their innate thuggery upon anybody who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She had been caught vandalising a car. To be honest I don't have a problem with anyone who had been caught vandalising other people's property getting a thump.
i do accept that and if they were dealing with a well built bloke, i would argue that the amount of force levied was 'reasonable', but a lone unarmed female who appears to be of a slight build, i fail to see how that is justifiable. i cannot see how it takes several punches in the arm at full force along with 3 or 4 other police officers who would all be fully trained to restrain the women in the fashion they did.

i saw a fight outside the local chicargo rock cafe a couple of weeks ago and it only took two police officers to restrain a fairly big bloke by holding him down on the floor and then he wasn't co-operating for some time until he realised he had little choice.

it's quite easy to see how these things can get out of hand with adrenalin pumping but i find it deeply unsettling. i had doubts over some of the things i heard about the forest gate raid, but seeing this perhaps there was some truth in the allegations of police brutality.
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Gavin Scott
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rts wrote:Story here for those who haven't heard about it.

Simple question, curious as to your thoughts. Is the issue that someone resisting arrest was punched my Police Officers, or the fact that she is black?
Well one could ask if the reason this woman was vandalising property and resisting arrest is because she is black.

But that would be unreasonable.

There are many cases which highlight the institutional racism of the police force, but I don't think this is one of them.

I think this case highlights that the police are, in essence, thugs with the law on their side.
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marksi
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Gavin Scott wrote:
rts wrote:Story here for those who haven't heard about it.

Simple question, curious as to your thoughts. Is the issue that someone resisting arrest was punched my Police Officers, or the fact that she is black?
Well one could ask if the reason this woman was vandalising property and resisting arrest is because she is black.

But that would be unreasonable.

There are many cases which highlight the institutional racism of the police force, but I don't think this is one of them.

I think this case highlights that the police are, in essence, thugs with the law on their side.
"the police" are rather a large number of individual officers, so we are in danger of sweeping generalisations...
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Gavin Scott
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marksi wrote:
Gavin Scott wrote:
rts wrote:Story here for those who haven't heard about it.

Simple question, curious as to your thoughts. Is the issue that someone resisting arrest was punched my Police Officers, or the fact that she is black?
Well one could ask if the reason this woman was vandalising property and resisting arrest is because she is black.

But that would be unreasonable.

There are many cases which highlight the institutional racism of the police force, but I don't think this is one of them.

I think this case highlights that the police are, in essence, thugs with the law on their side.
"the police" are rather a large number of individual officers, so we are in danger of sweeping generalisations...
I wasn't referring to the police as individuals, rather as a body or force, if you will.

The judiciary of the Nation is one thing, but the enforcement has to involve a certain amount of brute force.

I know some lovely policemen, but even they make no bones about what they have to do in the course of detaining someone who might bite, kick, punch or stab them.

My statement may be over simplistic, but I think it is true.
Spencer For Hire
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According to Radio 4 last night, the father of the girl said he didn't think there was any racist element to the incident.

I actually find it rather irresponsible that many news reports stressed the fact the woman is 'black' (in fact, she's mixed race), as if to imply it was in some was a racist incident, when there was no evidence of this in the slightest.

I'm also very puzzled as to why it's so unclear as to what part of her body was being hit. Did she not have any bruises afterwards?
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I think it has been made quite clear by the CC of West Yorkshire Police the reason why the CCTV seems to show "unreasonable force".

She pushed the PC down the stairs and then was grabbing his genitals as a means to inflict pain, thereby releasing herself and enabling escape. Given the pain being inflicted upon the PC I am not surprised at the amount of "force" he used against her arm.

WYP Officers are apparently trained to respond in groups of 4 when a suspect is resisting arrest. They were therefore following training protocols. The fact that she has neither complained of injury or required medical treatment afterwards is a testament to their professional capability.

I don't care whether she was white, black, pink or green. She was suspected of committing a crime and was resisting arrest quite dramatically. She also pleaded guilty and has probably been committed to 20 minutes community service. However, the PC concerned (who didn't bring an assault charge against her) is now withdrawn from front-line duty for weeks or months whilst an "investigation" is carried out.

It seems to me a self-confessed criminal is allowed to assault a Police Officer, and yet the PC is villified by the media for doing his job in arresting her. It rather negates the point of a public protection force at all if they are in fear of prosecution for doing what we ask them to.
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