Excessive policing at DSEi Reclaim the Streets

Voluntary Slave | 10.09.2003 18:27 | DSEi 2003 | London

Police use force, threats and mounted riot police against street party and observers, ending up using mounted police to chase children out of a park.

At 5.30 on Wednesday, the three or four deep police lines surrounding people taking part in the Reclaim the Streets party began to move the crowd off the A13, down a side-road. People who had not been penned in, and had been observing from behind police lines, could no longer see the crowd, as the police brought up vans to block their view. When I and other observers had made our way through side-streets to the other side of the crowd, police were forcing the crowd into the Canning Town recreation ground. The police, presumably feeling threatened by the difficulty of forcing protesters throught the narrow gate into the park, started to use heavy force, shoving and punching anyone who did not move as quickly or as docilely as they wanted them to. At this point, when police bebgan to use heavy force, a line formed and pushed observers away from the penned in crowd, again bringing up vans to block our view. The police pushed protesters 75 to 100 yards down the street, so that the crowd in the park were no longer visible to us. Police horses were used to prevent protesters and local people from entering the park near where the crowd was being held. When the police finally began to release people from the pen, they sent TSG (the trained riot police) and mounted riot police to clear the park and prevent protesters from reassembling. At this point, we saw a spectacle which I think sums up the excessive nature of the DSEi policing, as mounted riot police chased children off a football field and out of the park.

Voluntary Slave

Comments

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Well done you lot!

10.09.2003 18:46

Sorry, this may not be the most relevant thread for this post, but it is the most recent. I wanted to express my gratitude to the protesters for their activities this week.

I work in Canning Town, and it’s brought myself and many others a guilty sense of pleasure seeing the effects of the protests at the Excel Centre. The traffic across the borough has been at a standstill since lunchtime, and huge numbers of policepersons have been running about like maniacs. People have been getting off buses and walking, and even – heaven forefend! – gathering in groups to discuss what’s going on. My boss – not previously outspoken on geopolitical matters – even unleashed an anti-imperialist diatribe when interviewed by the BBC (somewhat typically, it was not shown on tonight’s local news, which stuck with the usual police vs. protesters stand-off template).

Sight of the day: three hire vans caught in traffic, packed with cramped, miserable looking cops. Seems they didn’t even have enough fast blue-lights to get them to the scene of the crime.

On behalf of myself, my colleagues, and the neighbours I’ve spoken to, thanks for making a stand. We didn’t want this disgusting festival of murder in our borough. Now, if you could walk down the road and evict ‘Sir’ Robin Wales from East Ham Town Hall, you’d make us even happier!

Newham resident

Well done you lot!

10.09.2003 18:55

This comment may be appearing for the second time, as I cant get the hang of posting, but here goes:

I work in Canning Town, and it’s brought myself and many others a guilty sense of pleasure seeing the effects of the protests at the Excel Centre. The traffic across the borough has been at a standstill since lunchtime, and huge numbers of policepersons have been running about like maniacs. People have been getting off buses and walking, and even – heaven forefend! – gathering in groups to discuss what’s going on. My boss – not previously outspoken on geopolitical matters – even unleashed an anti-imperialist diatribe when interviewed by the BBC (somewhat typically, it was not shown on tonight’s local news, which stuck with the usual police vs. protesters stand-off template).

Sight of the day: three hire vans caught in traffic, packed with cramped, miserable looking cops. Seems they didn’t even have enough fast blue-lights to get them to the scene of the crime.

On behalf of myself, my colleagues, and the neighbours I’ve spoken to, thanks for making a stand. We didn’t want this disgusting festival of murder in our borough. Now, if you could walk down the road and evict ‘Sir’ Robin Wales from East Ham Town Hall, you’d make us even happier!

Newham resident

Us lot

10.09.2003 20:41

It's good to hear that, Newham resident, after two days footsore and now bruised. I got the same support on the streets from nearly everyone locally to whom I spoke or gave fliers. Now the question is, how do we get more people out in future?

red

Civil Society

11.09.2003 01:20

Shame that more local residents did not get out on the streets and join us. If DSEi is ever to be shut down it this country it will require an effective responce by civil society - the actions of protesters and others over the past weeks and the last few days are part of a long process towards peace. If members of civil society support what we're doing then you need to get your voices heard too! You want your mayor out of office then kick the bastard out! It's your office after all.

Peace - Spod

Spod

heavy handed

11.09.2003 10:03

After a relatively good natured stint on the A13, the police seemed to lose their cool. After starting us moving towards the park down a side street, we clearly were not moving fast enough for them, and so they started shoving people in all directions. Tempers flared a tad, and they seemed to let us make our own way there…but when confronted by mounted police, and numerous “back up” in the park, a few of us were weary of entering and so sat down. Cue the heavy mob dragging people to their feet, throwing the small gentlemen in a shameful fashion. Its always worrying when you see other police having to restrain their own!
Once some of us were inside the park, the police proceeded in “throwing” people through the gates. On more than one occasion people fell on the floor, with the police continuing to push yet more people through. Shame on you indeed mr plod.
Holding us for an hour and half seemed futile, and they insisted that they COULD take your photo, and any refusal to remove masks, or attempts to cover you hand with you face (or even simply refusing to look at the camera) resulted in them pushing you back into the crowd until you were “ready to co-operate”

Sound support from residents as we made our way to the A13 though, and great puppet show from two children whist we waited to get into the park (Sooty and Sweep were stars!) comical moment of the afternoon had to be the mass panic as the police realised there was a macshite en route…and scrambled to ‘protect’ it….only for the 200 odd strong crowd to laugh as we walked past

Thanks Newham people

11.09.2003 11:14

I'd like to say the people of Newham were brilliant both days I was there. They helped giving directions of shortcuts, cheered us on and gave us moral and practical support, many actually hadnt heared about the arms fair until they saw us on the streets, and I saw some locals spontaneously join in, or promise help for next day. This support came from pensioners, young parents, small children, teenagers, shopkeepers and even motorists trapped in blockades, which is pretty mental. My small posse were very cordially treated by everyone in the small cafe we took a break in, and the workers there described at length how shite they thought it all was.

Thank you everyone for looking out for us, even if you wernt blockading and protesting with us on the days. Spod, many local peeps are doing stuff like picking their kids up from school, doing the shopping with their toddlers or going about their buisiness having not reolised what was about to happen next door. If you want thousands of locals out on the street, do a bit of networking, get out there in advance, talk to people and invite them along. Myself, I feel like the locals were really looking out for us.

phatpat

someone who was the other side of the police.

11.09.2003 11:14

me and a friend were on the other side of the police line when they started to herd everyone towards the park. a copper stopped us and asked if we were anything to do with the protest. we said no and he just walked off. we managed to loiter in between the riot vans for about an hour , keeping an eye on what was happening. they were getting a bit heavy with people in the park and from where we were standing we could see a stupid amount of cs gas being unloaded. but we eventually got told to piss off and had to go and wait up the end of the street. i hope the gas wasn't used on you people that got stuck in the park.

the local kids were funny. they were throwing tvs and fireworks at the police.

Another local resident

11.09.2003 12:50

I live on the waterfront on the Britannia Village side of the dock. It's been an interesting week with the local transport disrupted, but it's only really added 5 minutes to my work journey.

Pleased to see the efforts made by all to voice their opinions. All was going well with my full support until some idiot caused a DLR closure yesterday afternoon, ruining transport links for thousands.

It's always going to be a small majority that ruin it for all. What was the point of disrupting everyone? It only created hostility from the general public towards the protesters.

Now less people support the protest!

Hammo

Hammo, old son...

11.09.2003 15:09

Can't be too sympathetic with ya...

A lot of people came from all over this and other countries to try and shut down the death-fair.

You did not, even though you live round the corner.

If you can't be arsed to forfeit a day's pay when all these folks - who aren't millionaire dilletantes, by the way - were working so hard against DSEI, and getting battered by the cops, at least give your moral support, including for the direct action.

Please reconsider, friend!

squatticus

Cop brutality at park gates - pressing charges

12.09.2003 15:37

Sorry if this is a bit long. I was one of the protestors shoved, thumped, pushed over and generally brutalised outside the park by the A13 on Wednesday and have the bruises to prove it! I'm still boiling with rage and middle-class indignation at the way we were treated so intend to get some legal advice with re. to PRESSING CHARGES/MAKING FORMAL COMPLAINT and would like to HEAR FROM ANY OTHERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO DO THE SAME. I've left a message on LDMG ansafone and specifically need to know what I should do about getting my injuries photographed - I've got a digital camera but someone told me I need to go to a police photographer - any advice anyone?

Handily enough I'm also pretty prominent on the footage that I think's on the 'violence at park gates' page - although I could do with some photos/footage/witnesses of me being dragged out the crowd, shoved back in and then pushed over a bike by a charming WPC who just watched while I floundered on the tarmac with my foot trapped under the bike tire. Muchos thanks to the fellow protestor who picked me up and made sure I was OK - I think I was too shocked to thank you at the time, so if you're out there, please get in touch. Ditto to the people who I didn't realise at the time, but having seen the footage, can see were trying to help me stay upright while I was struggling my way out of a headlock.

The footage is pretty good - though from the vantage point in the park you can't make out how much the coppers were pushing us from all sides into each other and crushing us before we were even near the park gates. They really did behave like animals - ignoring our pleas for them to calm down and stop pushing 'cos people were getting hurt. The protestors were remarkably calm, restrained and good-natured under such obvious provocation and truly appalling, thuggish behaviour by the police.

I want to kick up as much fuss as possible. We must not allow them to treat us like this. We will not let them intimidate us out of exercising our legal right to protest and express political dissent. Threaten us all you like guys - you can't crush our spirit.

RevAngels
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