http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXNJ3MZ-AUo&feature=player_embedded
It is clear that both students and police officers behaved disgracefully at the recent student protests. Let’s address the balance in reporting by recognising the completely inappropriate treatment of some protesters by some police officers. This footage does not provide evidence that the entire police presence that day was dangerous, in fact a lot of it was quite necessary, but it certainly suggests that the police force was ill-prepared to deal with low-level violence from certain demonstrators, and that their approach (including also use of batons, kettling, horse charges and other alleged police behaviour during the day) was not appropriate, well planned or effective. It is certainly not the case that only protesters were to blame for the extent of the casualties and damage caused by last Thursday’s demonstration.
Jody McIntyre has cerebral palsy. He was pulled from his wheelchair and dragged across the road. He claims that he represented no threat to police officers. The BBC seem here to have painted him as a dangerous, crazy radical, a “revolutionary”, almost asking to be dragged from his wheelchair, when in fact it is quite probable that he is a non-violent but angry protester much like any of us, who did nothing to provoke a police attack. Without any evidence at all that Jody was violent towards the police, suggestions by Ben Brown that physical repression by those police officers was necessary because he is a “revolutionary” is wrongly biased against Jody, and is in danger of tipping the general public’s perception of public protest towards feelings of fear. The public cannot be allowed to believe that all protesters are violent, frightening and a threat. The public cannot be allowed to believe that the police are justified in dragging a disabled man from his wheelchair.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXNJ3MZ-AUo&feature=player_embedded
APW
Cuts Disgust 