OCCUPY LONDON - Police Criticised For Using Disproportionate Force On Protesters

Some anti-capitalist protesters have accused police of using disproportionate force, as officers tried to stop a camp being set-up near the Stock Exchange in the City of London.

Hundreds of demonstrators, who are angry at the influence of banks on Government policy, want to occupy the financial district.
The movement - which originally started in the US financial centre Wall Street - is now spreading across the world, including in Rome where protests turned violent.
On Saturday, thousands of people descended on the area around London's Stock Exchange in an attempt to replicate large Occupy Wall Street demonstrations taking place in New York.
Around 300 protesters are thought to have spent the night in tents outside St Paul's Cathedral, after police cordoned off the home of the exchange in Paternoster Square.
Portable toilets, a make-shift kitchen, a first aid centre and a press tent were also set up.

The demonstrators taking part in the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest have told Sky News they plan to stay "for as long as it takes".
Scotland Yard had said it would be "illegal and disrespectful" to camp in front of the cathedral.
But a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police later said: "We are not going to move anyone at this time."
The force also said no complaints had been received but "if anyone feels they have been unfairly treated by police they are entitled to make a complaint at a police station or online at met.police.uk".
All services at St Paul's Cathedral, the first of which was at 8am, are set to go ahead as planned today.
One clergyman told Sky News: "I don't have a problem with people being out here and expressing their right to protest."
Posters were displayed around the square. One read: "Bankers got a bailout. We got sold out."
A demonstrator told Sky News: "We hope that we can show people that it's not fair for a system which rewards bankers by bailing them out when they get things wrong but rewarding them with bonuses when they get things right.
"All the risk is on the taxpayer. We always end up paying and they always end up winning."

Another protester said the demonstration was to "challenge the bankers and the financial institutions which recklessly gambled our economy".
The protest was organised via social networking sites and people have travelled from around the UK. They are demonstrating about a range of issues including Government cuts, unemployment and the environment.
The Metropolitan Police force said it had made efforts to ensure Saturday's protest was largely peaceful.
Five arrests were made throughout the day's action in London - three for assault on police and two for public order offences.
A supporter of the demonstration, Anna Jones, claimed "a disproportionate amount of force" was used by police against protesters outside St Paul's.
She said: "We have seen people, kettled, grabbed and thrown off the steps forcefully by the police. This was entirely unnecessary. None came here to have a fight with the police."


Earlier, police began removing protesters from the cathedral steps, leading to physical confrontations, and officers expressed concerns about the cathedral's pillars being damaged by people sitting on its steps.
A Met spokesman said a "containment" was carried out in the churchyard "prevent a breach of the peace".
A day of global action on Saturday saw violent clashes in Rome, with demonstrations also taking place in New Zealand, parts of Asia and elsewhere in Europe.
Thousands took to the streets in cities including Frankfurt, Berlin, Vienna, Lisbon, Paris, Auckland and Tokyo. Around 5,000 people also marched at the scene of the initial Occupy Wall Street protests in New York.
In the Italian capital, police fired tear gas as protests developed into a riot, with bank and shop windows smashed, cars burned and bottles thrown.
Officers in riot gear also charged demonstrators and fired water cannons at them. Several officers and protesters were injured, including one man trying to stop others from throwing bottles.

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[WHENYOUREALISE]

CAPITILISM - WHAT CAPITILISM - THE MOST POWERFUL CORPORATIONS DO NOT GET BAILED OUT IN CAPITILIST SOCIETY - The banks have taken over the governments the people have no more say no power in our vote we have been kicked to the curb THIS IS THE GLOBAL AWAKENING 1.END CENTRAL BANKING. 2. END ILLEGAL WARS 3. INSTALL REAL DEMOCRACY ON THE INTERNET THE PEOPLE TO VOTER FOR EVERY ISSUE AND EVERY LAW (politicians demoted to debators only)

[traceychris1979]

yes withdraw every penny out of your account and collapse teh corrupt system!!

[MrLion1885]

@pyro999maniac Have a look on youtube for "The Battle of the Beanfield". That will show you an example of the police "keeping property and the public safe". The film was recorded by an ITN crew, but never broadcast. I don't think the reporter's career at ITN went any further either, after what he said about the police. It is an example though of what really happens and not what the BBC, ITN, & SKY want you to believe.

[portsanity]

@pyro999maniac You do realise that on the news in syria right now they will be blaming the protestors for their own deaths?

Same in Egypt

[portsanity]

@pyro999maniac Why dont you watch the murder of Ian Tomlinson by the police.

Protesters who attack the police are in the minority.

Police who attack protestors as a way of punishing them for protesting and as a method of discouragement is the normal

and i am sure their orders comne from the government

You should try and go on a protest an get near the police if you dare

[pyro999maniac]

@MrLion1885 no i dont think trying to bring about change is wrong. of course not. change is needed....but i hate when protesters attack police officers who are there simply to ensure that the public, property, and the protesters are safe.

[MrLion1885]

@pyro999maniac So you don't think that organising, demonstrating and trying to change a corrupt system is doing something worthwhile? The bankers, with the full compliance of the politicians have shafted the ordinary decent hardworking people of this country and you're happy to let them carry on? 150 years ago you'd have been moaning at the demontrators calling for voting rights.The police have always protected the interests of the ruling elite. Sadly, you are too.

[MrLion1885]

@ococircusboy, Are you joking? "The police becoming the target of protesters"? Try some research. Google "Blair Peach". Also take a look at "The battle of the Beanfield". on youtube. Footage taken by ITN but never shown on the TV news.Just two incidents of many. Seriously, ask yourself, do the police act in the interests of the public at large? Or are they just protecting the interests of a small powerful elite?

[pyro999maniac]

@MrLion1885 haha. i actually am part of a volunteer emergency service. i give my time to help others instead of causing problems. my point is the police officers are there to uphold the law.....when someone breaks it and they try and do their job they become the target. then the protesters wonder why they got hit after they didnt do as they were told or after they pushed officers.

[ococircusboy]

@MrLion1885 I am not a banker or anything similar - my point is simply the police are there keeping the peace and enforcing law, but are becoming the targets for the protesters. When the protesters pulled and pushed a police officer on the steps which caused alot of trouble, they didn't like the reaction of the police. Well guess what....they're gonna react !

[MrLion1885]

@pyro999maniac Read my reply to ococircusboy! It applies to you too!