- Section 14 Order – indicating imminent public disorder, damage to property or serious disruption to the community – enforced on “questionable” grounds
- Failure by police to communicate with protestors, political policing, aggressive arrests, reckless use of police force – all captured on video
- Indications emerging that arrests targeted specific Occupy London supporters
- Bail conditions indicate crackdown on lawful protest activities ahead of the Olympics and Jubilee, reminiscent of the ‘pre-crime’ arrests around the Royal Wedding last year for which a Judicial Review will shortly be heard.
Police from virtually every borough inLondon- in addition to members of the Territorial Support Group – violently removed supporters of Occupy London who were merely sitting on the steps of the Royal Exchange Saturday 5 May. The arrests came after a day of “Meet the 1%” activities and marches throughout the city that were timed to coincide with an international day of action marked in over 380 cities worldwide. [1]
Tents had been laid at the Royal Exchange and the 350-strong gathering, including families, was entirely peaceful with a friendly fun atmosphere for the talks and music that were happening. The crowd was almost immediately surrounded by police, indicative of the general policing of the day when earlier atSt Paul’s there had been at least 700 protestors. A General Assembly was convened to discuss next steps; how long to stay by the Bank of England or continue with the “Meet the 1%” tour of the city. At just after 5pm, legal observers became aware that a Section 14 Order under the 1986 Public Order Act had been imposed by the most senior officer on the ground, Chief Inspector Hancock. [2]
Matthew Varnham, a legal observer for Occupy London, said: “A Section 14 should only be put in place when there is a serious risk of imminent public disorder, damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community. Occupy London’s peaceful gathering near the Bank of England showed no potential for any of these outcomes, which would go against the principles of Occupy anyway. We are about engaging with the public in meaningful and creative ways. In any case, there is very little in the way of real community in that area; particularly on a Saturday when everything is closed.
“In instances such as this, the most senior officer on duty is required to explain how he reached his reasonable belief that action was necessary. When I spoke to Chief Inspector Hancock – and it took a while to engage him in conversation, by which most of the ‘warning period’ had elapsed – he confirmed that the Section 14 was being imposed on grounds that the assembly may result in serious disruption to the life of the community. I reminded the Chief Inspector that people were doing something that is not only legitimate, but protected by human rights law. Nevertheless, he refused to explain how he reached his conclusion. Frankly, there was absolutely no immediate risk of disruption to the life of the community and the lack of lawful reasoning is questionable.”
Around 40 protestors opted to stay on after the 5.45pm deadline set for people to disperse, linking arms to form a human chain on the steps of the Royal Exchange. A police snatch squad in triangle formation moved in in waves, violently removing protesters one by one. Many of those present captured these events on video.
Melanie Strickland, a supporter of Occupy London, said: “What occurred on the steps of the Royal Exchange was a shocking act of political policing. We were told that the senior officer had imposed restrictions on our assembly and that we were liable to arrest, but no officer could tell us how that section applied to us. From 6.40pm teams of police started snatching peaceful activists from the crowd, one by one. The police were aggressive, employing disproportionate and unlawful force. Women and men were assaulted as they sat linking arms on the steps in solidarity. Police attacked activists using techniques designed to inflict maximum pain without leaving marks.”
In all, 11 people were arrested. All have now been released from police custody with most on bail subject to stringent bail conditions including: keeping a distance of 100 metres from any Olympic venue, road or torch route; restrictions on entering the City of London at any time; plus the City of Westminster, Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead during any Jubilee or Olympic celebrations (without any notification of how to find out where events are happening).
The political policing of the day, the lack of adequate communication with protestors, disproportionate and unlawful force employed, plus the subsequent arrests which increasingly appear to have targeted specific individuals, highlight a crackdown on lawful protest activities ahead of the Olympics and Jubilee, reminiscent of the ‘pre-crime’ arrests around the Royal Wedding last year, for which a Judicial Review has been granted and will take place on the 28 May. [4]
Also coming up on Sunday 20 May, which will be worth attending is the Kettle Police Powers – Netpol Conference 2012, a conference exploring the impact of police powers on protest and communities. Are we seeing Total Policing or a Total Lockdown?(http://kettlepolicepowers.wordpress.com/)
Notes
[1] A map of international actions may be found at http://map.12m-15m.org/ For more information on May plans in London - http://may2012.occupylondon.org.uk/
[2] Chief Inspector Nick Hancock refuses to explain what constitutes his reasonable belief that the assembly poses an imminent risk of disruption to the life of the community - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOx4Nfu2e4A&sns=em
[3] Footage of arrests:
- i. Livestream footage – violent arrests occur at 01.00 and especially after 08.35 - http://bambuser.com/v/2638667
- ii. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJRRO0cSqWM
- iii. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_4aG3P9CDM (Note that at 0.11 CP746 pinches the arrestee’s ear)
- iv. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jtLtT03wLk
- v. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkNtDm3iQGY
- vi. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsM0SeK1Dzc
- vii. Someone in a tent is arrested while still being in the tent – the individual’s arm is visible – 1/2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp-Of4C8BF8; 2/2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzn3gQO5QYU
- viii. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkOTljMVg7I
[4] Judicial Review of Preemptive Royal Wedding Arrests http://pageantryandprecrime.wordpress.com/about
I think the way the police behaved was really unacceptable. They had been trying to get a reaction for quite some time and were being needlessly provocative. The only way to overcome this is for us to be out in ever greater numbers, and to maintain what has been a wonderfully peaceful presence.
However, I did feel disappointed with aspects of the protest.
The amount of drinking and week smoking was just too much. I do not really have a problem with either of them; but when you are trying to make a political point, and lots of the people around you are drinking and smoking mid-day, it ruins your message. It makes me reluctant to go to the protests because I question the motivation of some of the participants. It’s not like it was just a couple of people either; it was many.
Secondly, by the end of the night it looked like a scene from outside a cheap night club. There was a totally drunk girl running around dry humping her boyfriend. Many were lying down drunk and stoned. To anyone walking past they would not believe it was a serious political movement, and frankly, I felt a great deal of it wasn’t.
There are some wonderful, brave, and insightful people in the occupy movement, and I really admire what they are doing. But it strikes me that there are a large faction for who the difference between sticking it to authority, and genuinely wanting to alleviate the suffering in the world, is not clearly distinguished.
I do not mind what people do in their spare time, but I think when people are out in the political field, drink and drugs are banned. Either occupy gets on top of this and stops tolerating it, or the movement loses its credibility.
To me, it comes down to this: if you do not have the self-control and discipline to be sober in the field, you do not have what it takes to change society for the better.
The best thing occupy can do is to get right on top of this fast.
You admitted that you had brought tents and had attempted to set up camp outside the royal exchange, this is against local bye laws. Therefore the police had complete authority to remove your encampment and to arrest any protesters who were obstructing them from doing this. You therefore have got nothing to complain about as it was you who were in the wrong.
it was very clear to the police that no decision to stay there had been made