Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Police violence reared its ugly head again at Barton Moss

Northern Gas Gala | 16.02.2014 15:02 | Energy Crisis | Fracking

Day 81 – Sat 15th February

Police violence reared its ugly head again at Barton Moss with one protector being arrested and dragged by their handcuffs whilst reportedly having a seizure. Luckily no bones were broken but they were left with severe bruising and required a trip to hospital.








One protector managed to climb on top of one of the delivery trucks, delaying operations. There were six arrests in total.

The land owners also sent out a warning that the continuation of the community protection camp would be considered trespass, but it is unlikely that this will stop the protectors in their efforts to stop the iGas convoys.

Northern Gas Gala
- Homepage: http://northerngasgala.org.uk/day-81-sat-15th-february/

Comments

Hide the following comment

Police attack Barton Moss anti-fracking protestors

16.02.2014 22:25

After anti-fracking protestors scored an important legal victory at Barton Moss, Manchester Police responded with outright violence and intimidation. The message was clear: 'Never mind the Courts and Judges. We are are the law.'

This is political policing, re-enforced with overt aggression - what took place today appears to be political policing in favour of a corporate agenda.

After the District Judge had declared Barton Moss Road a public footpath (see here), and the successful blockade of the iGas delivery lorries on Thursday (see here), today came the brutal backlash from Greater Manchester Police and its Tactical Aid Unit (TAU).

This morning, a convoy of lorries delivering to the iGas exploratory drilling site arrived as notices were posted on cars and handed out to the public declaring ...



To Whom It May Concern

Please note that Barton Moss Road the A57 to Tunnel Farm is owned by Manchester Ship Canal Developments Limited and beyond that point by Peel Investments North Ltd and there is no right to occupy Barton Moss Road without the consent of the owners.

The only public right over Barton Moss Road is a footpath for pedestrians any persons occupying or possessing Barton Moss Road are doing so as trespassers without the consent of the owners and should cease such occupation.



Unsigned ... who published it?

The notice had no headed notepaper or signature, but appeared to be a manoeuvre in the face of the GMP's court defeat last Thursday, to arrest anyone not complying with the notice for "aggravated trespass". Greater Manchester Police constantly warned people of this throughout the day.

Peel Holdings, or the Peel Group, not only own Barton Moss Road but all the fields surrounding it, including the iGas drilling site, and Barton Airport where the police are based during operations, drawing rent off all of them.

It now appears that the company - stuffed with vested interests - is preparing to evict anti-fracking campaigners.

All hell broke loose

As the lorry convoy approached the entrance to the iGas site this morning, accompanied by huge numbers of police, all hell broke loose with Tactical Aid Unit officers literally running riot according to eye witnesses ...

"While there was a protector on the roof of one of the wagons, a police officer said one of the guys had called him 'a dickhead', so they read him his rights and the police went into the field to arrest him, pushed him to the floor and handcuffed him", says photographer Jason Smalley

"Two other protectors were trying to protect him so they got chased and pushed to the floor.

"I was shooting a video of it, and I got pushed really hard onto the floor. They said they thought I was going to assault the officer ... The police were being really aggressive, there was a woman fitting in the field while they were handcuffing her ... "

They tried to strangle her

Another eye witness, Diane Steels, says ... "Vanda is a mother of four, they tried to strangle her and they were just hitting everybody. It was chaos... horrendous once the Tactical Aid Unit had come in. I was scared. Everyone was scared. We were just running because they were chasing everyone.

" ... Earlier, they pushed us and bullied us down the road. They have damaged my knee, they were just kicking us in the back of the legs so we couldn't physically walk any faster, and then it kicked off in the field because someone swore and it escalated from there."

Jason's photos show a police officer with his hands around Vanda's neck, then handcuffing her and then, with another officer, dragging her through the field. The end of his video clearly shows that she is having a fit (see the video on YouTube - click here).

Legal observers barred from 'crime scene'

While this was happening, police officers had sealed off Barton Moss Road from the public, declaring it a "crime scene". As well as the public and the Salford Star reporter, Lindsay, an impartial legal observer, was also prevented from having access ...

"I got a call from the Camp to come because of aggressive policing by Greater Manchester Police Tactical Aid Unit" said Lindsay.

"I've been prevented from doing my job as an impartial legal observer. I'm not part of this protest, I just make statements of arrest in case the arrestees need a witness statement to assist them with any future court cases or action. They have refused my entry onto a public footpath."

By the time the public footpath was open and people made their way to the iGas site entrance, Vanda was still lying on the floor with no ambulance in sight and even one of the protectors, who was a trained nurse, was refused access to tend her ... "I'm disgusted", she said.

"We called an ambulance and there wasn't one available", a Police Liaison Officer told the Salford Star. "We are not willing to move her and can't go into the circumstances of that. We are waiting for the ambulance to come and they will take control of the situation."

After 45 minutes an ambulance arrived and took her to Salford Royal Hospital, where, we understand, she was "de-arrested".

Political policing, re-enforced with overt aggression

On the scene was the Camp's lead solicitor, Simon Pook of Robert Lizar Solicitors, who is also a legal observer:

"What I have witnessed today at Barton Moss has confirmed my greatest fear ... A fear that Greater Manchester Police appear to have discarded the European Convention of Human Rights into the gutter, and replaced it with political policing, re-enforced with overt aggression."

"My experience there today caused me to be concerned for my own safety, based on my observations and interactions of Greater Manchester Police. I am firmly of the view that what took place today appears to be political policing in favour of a corporate agenda.

I call on GMP and the Police and Crime Commissioner to tell the public: Why?"

UN - strong representations made to UK Government

Speaking of the police closing off Barton Moss Road to reporters and legal observers he added that he intends to contact the United Nations about the policing of Barton Moss.

"The United Nations Special Rapporteur of peaceful protest has made strong representation to the UK Government in regards to not allowing legal observers to come through and observe the police in an individual capacity" he explained.

"The UK government said they would consider that report, which was produced in July 2013. From what I've seen today that doesn't seem to be the case.

"I'm happy to update the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations in regards to a full report on Barton Moss and the GMP conduct and that's something that I intend to do."





This article was first published by the Salford Star, which has been diligent in reporting the Barton Moss protests fairly and impartially since the beginning of the demonstrations. Also on the page, more photos and reader comments.

Jason Smalley
- Homepage: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2284869/police_attack_barton_moss_antifracking_protestors.html


Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech