Peaceful protester attacked by police at Sussex University 2

[antz28270]

Wish i could get an almost intrest free loan! People are losing jobs and careers!!!Students arnt the only people suffering in this financal climate....but they do appear to be the most selfish.....get a grip on life and get a job!

[jr007nj]

they are just arresting him ... ..

[saghafib]

Where are those in UK or US government who were crying for human rights for ceasing the riots in Iran???

[begent73]

I'm a uni student (one old enough to remember the miners strike!) I've never seen a uni using this soirt of tactics on students before! Bar the civil unrest in the states in the 60s. Policeman KBE (the one dragging man down bank and throwing him to the floor via his neck) should be reported! Over the top policing, hope more students will back those at Sussex and start protests in other campuses in support!

[idle44]

@begent73 I am old enough to remember the news from the USA when the Kent State University sit-In from the late 60's ended in bloodshed. The National Guard went in and just shot a dozen anti-Vietnam War demonstrators. Is this the last card in Gordan brown's hand?

[8orwellish]

let the world see what police in the UK waste their time doing. Subversion of the right to free association and free speech. i.e. democracy.

[MyMelancholyDodo]

nice to know the police are acting so violently towards our children.

[richard89james]

You're not the vice-chancellor by any chance, are you?

[kieronlea]

yobs with licences.

[dazady45200]

Protesters annoy me soooo much. I'm with the police on this one.

[trockism]

So protesters 'annoy' you do they? That's all of them is it - regardless of what they're protesting about? Anti-war, anti-global-warming, anti-slashing of education budgets? So sorry that these protesters 'annoyed' you - how inconvenient. Now go back to your fantasy world.

[napalmdeathfromabove]

having been arrested several times for being a prick, and having also had a few other dealings with the police over the years I have quite a lot of respect for them.

However, I was at this protest and there was absolutely NO need for the police to be there whatsoever, sussex has its own security staff and the protest was very peaceful. the number of police called was completely out of context and the fact that they arrived on mass in the manner that they did is slightly odd IMO

[Autonova]

did you guys see him do anything unpeaceful? no, so shut the fuck up.

[clubcard246]

yeah but did you see what was before the film ? lol

[colin190736]

yes, i was there. the guy wasn't actually arrested, so nobody is claiming he did anything wrong (apart from random people on the internet eager to apologise for police violence). what you see in the video is technically a 'stop and search' under Section 1 of PACE, at least that's the legal basis the cops claimed when they didn't arrest him on account of him doing nothing wrong.

[richard89james]

Thanks Colin, this is correct. However, the officer in the riot gear said something about 'section 27' of God-knows which Act. Any ideas what this might be?

[colin190736]

Presumably S.27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act (2006) which applies to "alcohol-related disorder." just as spurious as a stop and search. It was clearly a case of attack first, think of a legal pretext later.

[Atheose]

In 2008 the school voted to raise tuition rates, but everyone protested so they did not. So their only other option is to make cuts... and then everyone protests that too.

One or the other needs to be done. Protesting both is just retarded.

[MurrayTheMac]

While you cannot see it on this YouTube system, you should know, sir, that the thumbs up I just gave you was giant.

[richard89james]

One other view is that education, as a public service can be funded through taxation, especially on the rich. There always seems to be public money for slaughtering people in Afghanistan and Iraq, but not for educating them at university even though expenditure required for either project is approximately the same Why do you think this is the case?

[romeandavilla]

You idiot. The university can't decide to raise tuition rates. Tuition is decided at a national level. Get some info or shut the f*** up.

[proudtobeaj]

If anyone tried to "peacefully occupy" my house, they'd recieve more than a bit of rough treatment.

[MrLeoKrupps]

he was restrained quite roughly but...thats it?

out of hand protest not 'peaceful protest' xD

[richard89james]

Wasn't out of hand 'til the Old Bill showed up. Disruptive - yes, that's the nature of effective protest, but not violent or disorderly.

[stableflea]

for all those people who say fuck the police. would you realy rather a world were if u get attacked no one will care?

[AlphaSKeight]

FUCK THA' POLICE.

[richard89james]

I'd rather die.

[ashleysmithd]

lefty liberal c*nts protesting by spitting in policemen's faces all under the pretence they are fighting for freedom against the right wing facists... grow a f*cking dick and realise this is modern England not 1940's Nazi Germany.

[The1FAQ]

Peacful protest my arse. Those douche bags were causing a massive riot. And it wasn't an attack he was just restrained

[MrLeoKrupps]

wow ''peaceful protest my arse''

those are the exact words I said when I watched this vid! xD +1 to this comment

[colin190736]

er, this guy wasn't being arrested. even the police aren't claiming he was violent.

[DB557]

@ CoiledClock and crazyjohnhilton, what you don't seem to understand is that these are Sussex University students on Sussex University campus - there was absolutely no reason for the police to be there in the first place.

Whatever your views on the protest and its usefulness, Sussex management have handled this catastrophically badly.

[ufapaki]

what was the protest about

[just16able]

@ptarget and others - the anger is because these students are protesting against the sacking of 115 members of staff by a management of 18+ people on six figure salaries who say the university cannot afford to employ them any more. The students are supported by a staff union ballot with an 80% turnout, 80% of whom have voted to strike to save these jobs. There is a reason for this protest.

[MurrayTheMac]

If they've already voted to strike, why the need for a protest?

[loserkidst]

Don't think you can have a go at the police, they're doing their job. The protesters are obviously causing trouble, perhaps not through violence though. It's made out to be some big rough and violent arrest, but have you even seen an arrest on a night out?

[ptarget]

overreaction from the police. Doesn't justify all this anger though.

[crazyjonhilton]

nothing wrong with what the police did here. if the guy says he was doing nothing wrong, well that's for the court to decide. he wasn't attacked he was just arrested

[colin190736]

no he wasn't arrested. the police are not claiming he committed any offence. technically this is a 'stop and search' (although i don't think they actually searched him in all the excitement).

[just16able]

This man was taken out of a crowd and thrown head first on to concrete. If his head had hit the ground he could be dead. It's there to be seen in the video. In what way is this OK whatever he (or may not have) done?

[CoiledClock]

Fucking left wing loons. Well done police.

[daherbalis]

@CoiledClock I guess expecting the pigs that we pay to serve and protect us to actually do their job and not intimidate, harass and assault us is left-wing, then. Maybe they should be free to break any laws they want, then. That's the world you want, is it? One in which you have no right to make your voice heard, for fear of being beaten to within an inch of your life. What exactly have the police done here to earn your praise?

[onafriday6]

er have you guys just not seen an arrest before? Just looked standard procedure in a protest going out of hand to me.

[mickeypottsdmxdmx]

standard arrest... your in for a tough time when you get 'attacked'!!

[daherbalis]

Filthy fucking pig scum. Us against them it is, then. WE MUST RISE UP!

[CoiledClock]

Inciting civil unrest is a criminal offence.

[daherbalis]

@CoiledClock As is murder, but you can get away with it if you're a policeman. R.I.P. Ian Tomlinson and Charles De Menezes...

[oldskool77]

What and let people like you run the world, NO thanks.

[roxyzena]

attacked??? peaceful??? just a normal arrest me thinks.

[dynamite1324354]

Seems like a student got arrested like anyone else would in that situation

[Callaz3]

to me, it seems a grossly disproportionate reaction - and the positioning is ridiculous - why where the police trying to hold people back on the slope? it's obvious that people would be pushed forward - i guess it gave them an easy excuse to arrest a few people.

the number of police involved signifies that there must be governmental concern at the problem that the government has caused, through their own ridiculous mis-management of public money.

[steffi333]

@Callaz3 Being a student at another uni where we were due to have a similar protest before UCU and the university came to an agreement, there was a concern that our local Socialist group/society would turn up en masse. It had happened previously for a similar demonstration, where a bus load of non-students just looking for any old cause (even if it wasn't related to them) turned up on campus. The police presence may have been due to that, although this doesn't excuse the violence they employed.

[theoneali]

fuck the police scum

[scriptordeatrum]

assholes

[driver1983]

Who knows what caused that to happen, but you can hardly call it 'Police brutality' - I'd say this is more wasting police time. It would be brutal if they busted his head open with a baton but they didn't. They put him on the deck, restrained him and that's that.

Man up if you think this is brutal and if you are going to protest, this is just an occupational hazard. Live with it.

[thenakedi]

It looks very bad for Sussex Uni management that they have to bring out the state's riot police against their own students.

willspoke - a lot of people commenting (including myself) were there on the day, and it is fair to say that this is one in a string of brutal attacks from police that day.

[willspock]

looks like he saw someone come to the front with a suitcase, and being bombarded with terrorism safety measures every day, took action.

you can sit here and say omg its police brutality when your sitting on your pc on youtube, and unless you were there your not in the position to call it brutality.

[TheBowlerHatagain]

How heavy do you think it is? Knowing students it's probably a dangerous satchel.

[Jameth2008]

Scary stuff.

[Spartacus21C]

You sound like you're trying to claim that was somehow a provocation.

[sharpness3]

What happened immediately before this? Was this a random attack or was the victim picked on because he's an activist or more outspoken? Either way it's completely out of order.

[boris9001]

I was in sussex house and saw the whole thing, they were RANDOMLY grabbing protesters and threatening with batons and pepper spray anyone that tried to help, this was a peaceful protest that the police assaulted. 16 police vehicles turned up including roit vans to control 60 students sitting in a building and 100 outside in support = POLICE BRUTALITY

[fontdude]

sussex will stop the cuts.

police brutality like this isn't necessary.

not at all.

[bafferine]

He came out of the building totally peacefully and was pushed to the ground.

Shame on them.

[hamidious]

WTF? Did he just randomly decide he wanted to make an arrest?

[lloydreggie]

They get paid per arrests made. And i commend them for their gross incompetence. Wonder why the real criminals never get caught? I doesn't matter who's arrested, as long as somebody is.

[madvlad2006]

Damn, is there no level of brutality they won't stoop to