ACAB
Posted: December 11th, 2010 | Author: Germaine Arnold | Filed under: Photography, Text | No Comments »
A police officer wields his baton after being struck by a paint bomb
So this week I’ve been out in the field covering the third wave of student protests across London. I saw some pretty horrific police brutality including a man being dragged from his wheelchair, and teenagers with streaming head wounds.
However I won’t pretend that it hasn’t been a good week for me journalistically, as my pictures have been spread far and wide across the interwebz. The image of journalist Jody McIntyre who was pulled from his wheelchair by police in particular seemed to touch a nerve with the public, and at my last check had over 30,000 views.
So while i lick my wounds and complain to anyone I can about my bruises, I’ve included below my comments on the last wave of protests and also some of my best pictures of the day at the bottom of the post.
Pre-emptive police presence creates tension rather than easing it
I set out yesterday morning hoping to exercise my democratic rights, both as a journalist and as a student, but instead found myself trapped under a ten-foot section of metal fencing while the police rained down baton blows and fists.
Having attended the previous three tuition fees marches, partly as a peaceful protester, and partly as a neutral observer, I was prepared for the possibility of disorder amongst the crowd.
However the march progressed peacefully for the first few hours, with a resolute, but amicable atmosphere.
The tipping point came as police once again took steps to contain the demonstration, pre-empting disorder, by mobilising an overwhelming police presence to stop the march in its tracks at Parliament Square.
While a great majority of the crowd were still peaceable after the initial containment, it only took a small spark from a few intrepid agitators to rouse the rabble into mass civil disobedience and petty crime.
The change in mood happened suddenly and alarmingly, as if the protesters’ shared hive mind had given the green light for the destruction to begin. Standing next to the fences in the square, I noticed a group of 20 teenagers gathering together to one side. Suddenly, a shout rose from the group above the voice of the crowd, “Kick down the fences.” The fuse was lit.
Fences were toppled in a bizarre parody of a domino run, and although a comparatively small proportion of protesters were involved in the vandalism, the majority took their chance to clamber over the downed fences, and take Parliament Square for their own.
I was at the front of the police kettle on Broad Sanctuary, just off Parliament Square, where police drew the ire of the crowd simply by their presence, paint bombs were thrown and firecrackers sent horses into a panic, their hooves wildly skittering over the surface.
I was subjected to numerous thwacks from batons and riot shields, including three in quick succession from one officer, despite doing nothing more provocative than taking pictures. Although police shouted, “get back” with each strike, it was clear the main intent was to put fear into the crowd, as retreat was impossible with the demonstrators pushing ever forward.
I was fortunate enough to find a discarded builders helmet on the ground, which I donned, so I left with only a bruised shoulder and collarbone. Others were not so lucky, and I saw a handful of people with streaming claret head wounds, bloody noses and also many photographers with smashed lenses.
Police again used the much-maligned (and much-denied) tactic of mounted charges. I have often considered why a modern police force has need for cavalry. Let me tell you that when the half-ton beasts charge towards you, it is a truly terrifying experience, which had everyone cowering. If the desired effect was to break up the crowd however, then terrifying or not, the horses were no more effective than the batons and shields.
These were the actions of police officers out of their depth, at every level. They simply did not know how to deal constructively with the protest, instead leading fists-first every time. I would even argue that it was their poor planning that had led to the stand-off in the first place.
The Broad Sanctuary exit from the square at first had minimal police presence, and it was only when the police gathered in greater numbers there that they found themselves under attack.
In a sense, the police were attacked because they had expected to be attacked, and in a crude form of one-upmanship, both police and protesters drew greater support until an irresistible force and an immovable object were formed.
The police have a difficult job to do, and that is why it is especially important that they don’t make their job harder by gaining a widespread reputation for heavy-handedness and negligence.
With police barring every exit, fires raging, graffiti daubed on any accessible surface and urine flowing from every doorway, Parliament Square resembled a chaotic dystopian future that had echoes of Nineteen Eighty Four.
It was fitting then that the final placard I saw before leaving the kettle read:
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stomping on a human face – forever”
See also:
- Eastlondonlines protest live blog
- My Eastlondonlines page
- eastlondonlines Twitter
- germainearnold Twitter
