"I tried to help someone up who was on the floor, he was at the feet of a policeman with a dog snapping right at him, and was holding his leg and screaming. I went to help him out of the way of the dog and got hit from behind by a truncheon in the side of the knee and back of my leg 4 times before I could get out of reach." Alex - would be party goer.
Last weekend about two thousand party goers were attacked by police whilst attempting to attend a free party in the Manchester area. The A57 was closed for about 2 hrs when police forced party goers out of a warehouse and on to the streets. According to one first hand report the rave was already filling up by around 11pm, nearly half an hour before the police arrived, and the premises were protected under section 6 "squatters rights" due to it being the permanent residence of a small number of people.
The police upon entry ignored this warning and proceeded to use extreme force on people who were showing no resistance and breaking no laws. This behaviour was carried out under supervision and instruction of the attending Detective Inspector. Several accounts confirm that people were beaten with police batons, bitten by Dog units for not moving fast enough and/or were thrown around by the police.
Outside the venue a large crowd of about 800 people had gathered outside in anticipation of the rave. It response the police saw necessary to form a line complete with riot units, and rush the crowd with both dogs and batons.
On Friday 26th a protest was held at Manchester Magistrates court to support a raver charged with affray. (see video below)
Reports and comments | Pictures of injuries and the night | Video of first hand reports at the protest on Fri 26th