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account of 24nov demo in Brighton

millie | 26.11.2010 11:58 | Policing | South Coast

Following is an account of Weds' student walkout demo in Brighton taken from here:
 http://brightonstudentwalkout.wordpress.com

See also  http://brightonresistance.wordpress.com for details of ongoing Brighton University arts building occupation.



Headline events, for those who don’t want to wait until the end for the good stuff: 2500-3000 people at the peak; good mood on the demo, good reception, lots of conversation with passers-by; the official end-point was ignored; 1500 people went to try and occupy the Town Hall, were kettled there, broke out; then 500 of them went to occupy vodafone, looted Poundland, blocked roads, attacked a police station, then got dispersed and kettled on the sea-front.

There were six arrests.


2pm: 1500 people at Dyke Road Park, near BHASVIC, where all the different walkouts had agreed to meet up. Restless crowd made up of lots of little groups of friends. Efforts to set up a series of speeches failed because, partly because the PA was too quiet for such a large crowd.

2:15pm: March moves off, ahead of schedule. Police (caught a little off guard) and stewards in front and at the sides keep things under control. More students join as the demo runs past BHASVIC, down Dyke Road. Stewards keep the demo moving at a steady pace – perhaps a little slower than it would go off its own back – apparently with the aim of “making it last longer” and allowing police to stop traffic so that no-one in the demo gets hurt. At Seven Dials, the demo’s held for 5 minutes, until a file of police arrives to put itself in front of the demo. These police – acting apparently at the request of stewards – proceed to set the pace on the way down Dyke Road to Western Road, with a few more lengthy stops while the march bunches up.

[ADDITION] – John Redford adds the following comment:

The stewards didn’t invite the police to the front. They stopped us at 7 dials while they stopped the traffic. They could have, and did, place a line of themselves at the front of the march at any time, they didn’t need the march to stop to do that.


March turns down Western Road. Numbers seem up by now – closer to the Argus estimate of 2500.

3 pm: At Old Stein, police and stewards and stop the demo. Stewards then initiate a sit-down which lasts for a few minutes, before the whole things moves off again, towards what is meant to be the end of the demonstration. A PA has been set up at Old Stein – it’s playing some sort of music as we arrive – but people (definitely more than 2000 now) just kind of meander over to the other side of Old Stein, towards the Brighton University building/gallery which was rumoured as an occupation target.

Then there’s a weird pulse in the crowd – as people try and gain entry to the building, and the whole crowd gets interested – but people go to the wrong entrance first, which gives a couple of police time to get in front of the right door. The mood changes: the whole thing’s off the script now. A file of riot vans pulls out of the police station just up the street and pulls up beside Hector’s House: riot police jump out and start to sort of shimmy along the raised ledge of the building, above the main portion of the crowd, in an attempt eject a few who’d climbed up. People throw a few eggs (“it’s Tory HQ mate!”) but no-one’s too bothered. A couple of kids climb on top of a phone box and gesture to the crowd who respond with cheers.


3:10: The guys with the PA move it across the Steine to where the crowd’s in the road and try to attract people’s attention for speeches. A few people turn round and listen but most want to keep moving.

Pretty much the whole crowd sets off down Old Stein towards the sea. The police are off balance and the stewards have disappeared. 80 people get into another Brighton Unversity building, Pavilion Parade, before a few cops manage to block the door (more protestors would have gone in otherwise). The main crowd (still around 2000) hesitates, then moves off towards the town hall, back up North Street (“We’ve already been down here, why are we going back?”) then, running, up East Street, into the square where the town hall is.

3:20: The hundred at the head of the march run fast towards the town hall. Five get in before police seal the door – and chant a bit, with a cheerful response from council staff – but they’re thrown out before most of the crowd arrives. This is when the police first deploy dogs. Then people hesitatateed for while before a new rush into Priory house, which draws most of the 2000 into the square in a mad crush. That move is also prevented by the police, but by now the mood’s getting uglier. French bangers thrown, police lines start to be thrown up. People start getting bored, stuck.

3:30: the police try and impose a kettle. People are still allowed to leave, one by one, and they do, forming up outside in small groups and watching the crowd inside. Then there’s another pulse in the crowd, as everyone surges towards a small exit from the square in the south east corner, where people are trying to force the police line. People on the outside run round the corner to where the exit comes out and put pressure on the police line there, too. After a few minutes the police line breaks at both ends and most of the crowd escapes the kettle, setting off down Madeira Drive.


People trying to leave the kettle at the Town Hall - before the mass break-out.
Lots of people dispersed at this point, leaving about 500 people moving together. The crowd ran to the roundabout at the bottom of Old Stein, , where a few people went into the university occupation (lots left again immediately); the rest went to Churchill Square where, as it started to get dark, they occupied Vodafone. (Rumours of a kid making off sharpish with a laptop from there.) Then they moved off down North Street and looted Poundland (the main target seems to have been confectionery).

‘More detail’ from ‘M’:

Just a little bit more detail from after the town hall when the crowd returned to the occupation at Pavillion Parade:-

At around 16:20-16:25 a large part of the crowd – maybe half – split off and walked up North st toward Churchill square.
When they got about 100 yards from the occupied building some of the riot police burst into the university and dragged out several of the occupiers.

The remaining crowd outside Pavillion Parade headed up Church st turning left onto Bond St where they were kettled. Some of us from that group saw the kettle forming and managed to exit through an alley making our way up to the Clocktower. There we joined the first group who were blocking the crossroads at around 16:40-45 before heading through Churchill sq and along Western Rd to the Vodafone store.

(Also, the looted Poundland was the one on Western rd, directly opposite the Vodafone store)


Meanwhile about 100 people were kettled at the bottom of Bond Street, where a small crowd was forming outside police lines, calling for their release. When the Poundland mob arrived down the North Street the police rapidly dissolved their kettle, letting people out up Bond Street. The Poundland mob then moved onto Old Stein, where it was generally understood that the point from then on was economic disruption, in order to make it clear to ‘them’ that ‘we’ were serious. The road was blocked at Old Stein by 400 people, who let people through slowly and received support from most of the drivers, with horns tooted and bus drivers high-fiving protestors. Then that crowd went across Old Stein, up Edward Street, and attempted to attack the police station there. They were rapidly checked by a strong line of police that came out of the station, and retreated back to Old Steine after a little panic.

The crowd then headed down to the roundabout again, where traffic was stopped for 20 minutes. But the crowd lost its confidence and momentum, and stayed on the roundabout while file after file of police vans made their way there, sirens blaring. The police deployed and, within a few minutes, cut off Madeira Drive and started driving the crowd off the roundabout, East along the seafront, with a series of sharp charges. Those who didn’t move quickly enough found themselves kettled against the sea wall (where it was too steep to jump down.) These unfortunates were held in place while van after van of police arrived, while everyone who’d escaped gathered on the fringes, where they watched helplessly as the police reinforced their lines, creating new perimeters and deploying many dog teams. Several member of the public witnessed a young girl (approx 16-18) being pinned to the ground and arrested. Police officers present refused to comment on reasons for this, informing members of the crowd that it did not concern them.

Lots of passers-by joined the small groups of people on the outside at this point to ask what was going on, and when told were largely sympathetic, especially when it was emphasised that the coming cuts were going to affect everyone. Hopefully people will write up their experiences of conversation on the day, especially with people outside the demo.


There was tension on the outside but not too much. As soon as it became clear that the police were letting people go one by one – after photographing them and taking their names – most people without friends inside started to leave. It took a couple of hours for the police to let everyone out – and each one was walked out of the kettle by one or two cops, apparently giving them a ‘good talking to’ about what was and what was not acceptable behaviour.

Overall the mood was buoyant, not disheartened, and people were looking for the next chance to get going. A widespread sense that this was ‘good, but not enough’. “Better than staying in and playing Xbox.”

millie

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

A question

26.11.2010 12:22

A question for people who know the law.
If you are kettled do you have to give your name and address and let them photograph you? What if you don't and you have no ID-can they arrest you? And if they do arrest you and you still refuse to name yourself what do they do?

John Locke


legal info

26.11.2010 14:31

No you don't. It is also not required by law that you carry ID. If they want to arrest you then they need to have a reason to do so (you need to always ask police under what section of the law they are acting) - refusing to give your name and address/not showing ID are not lawful reasons.

There are 3 exceptions to this:

Section 50 Police Reform Act, Section 25 PACE, Driving a vehicle

There are just 3 instances in which your not giving your name and address may legally result in arrest:

- The police want to issue you with a summons or fixed penalty notice for a non-arrestable offence (Section 25 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act or PACE).
- You are suspected of anti-social behaviour (Section 50 Police Reform Act). “Anti-social behaviour” is defined as behaviour that has caused harassment, alarm or distress to other people.
- You are the driver of a vehicle or you are involved in an accident or traffic offence


Stop and search:

Police cannot just stop and search you without reason. You have a right to know what on what grounds they want to do so (i.e. under what section of the law they are searching you). If they are searching for something in particular (e.g. drugs, a weapon) they must have a reason for suspecting it to be in your possession. There are just two articles of legislation (used extensively on demos) under which this ‘reasonable suspicion’ is not required: Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Before searching you a Constable must give you their name and the name of the police station to which they are attached. Ask them for all this information before consenting to the search.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS UNDER ANY STOP AND SEARCH POWERS (including S44 Terrorism Act and S60 mentioned above). Police do not have the power to look at your mobile phone or bank cards. Think about locking your phone and leaving anything with personal details at home. Make sure that you get a receipt of the search.


see also  http://freebeagles.org

JH


@ John

26.11.2010 14:53

My experience is with Section 60 of the Public Order Act which from my understanding is what they generally use to justify kettling, although I've only had experience with smaller kettles than this. They can employ this if they have "reasonable suspicion" that people in the crowd may be carrying weapons, although police seem to interpret this as any group of people who don't comply completely with police. They can then hold you there as they search people one by one for weapons or other incriminating items. They are NOT allowed to read ID from bank cards, driving licence or anything else they find on you. I try to keep hold of anything with my name on it whilst being searched. They will generally ask for your name and details, but you are under no legal obligation to do so. Filming is a dubious. If you are in a public area they can attempt to film you, but you don't have to make it easy for them. I don't know of any power where they can detain you for the purpose of filming you, however they can detain you to search you etc and you have to take masks off and stand in particular way whilst they do this, so will generally film you whilst they do these things.

They used to use Section 44 of the Terrorism act a lot to do similar things, but I think there's a moritorium of that at the moment where public order is concerned.

As far as I know, the only situation in which you have to give your name, age and address is if you have been arrested and taken to a police station for questioning. However, this is just based on what I've picked up/ read about. I'm not legally qualified.

The important thing in these situations is to spread the word through the kettle that you don't have to answer questions about your ID. Just say "No comment".

D


additions

26.11.2010 19:37

several additions:

roughly 2:30pm

One of the officers at the front of the still peaceful protest at the bottom of North Street could be heard regularly reporting in his radio that they were receiving occasional volleys of light missiles. He was heard specifically mention pennies being thrown. It was patently clear that this was not happening. His badge number is believed to have been 4B K, on a bib worn over his normal jacket.

3:20pm

a large number of protesters were successful in occupying the ground floor of priory house for several minutes before riot police kicked them out. roughly a dozen made it up stairs through offices to the door to the roof. Upon finding it locked, they descended and left through a different exit, to find riot police already blocking the main entrance where they had come in.

3:30pm

The kettle in the square outside the town hall and priory house was broken several times by small pockets of protesters, resulting in some being wrestled to the floor by officers with the normal stand-on-your-face techniques. These protesters were, although restrained by several officers face-down on the street ready to be handcuffed, unexplainabley not arrested. This could have been an attempt to keep arrest numbers low, in order to show the government that they were unable to handle the disturbances, and therefore should not be cut themselves.

The police line holding the outside of the exit to the square in the south east corner was broken several times and reinstated, with several protesters receiving punches to the face and head. Protesters were threatened with tear gas guns inches form there faces before the mass breakout.

(see here)  http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomwills/5204588456/in/set-72157625458761654/

There response was to regroup, link arms and break the police line, prompting the breakout as the other side did the same. There seemed to be no aggressive violence towards police, including when both lines guarding the entrance and exit were overrun.

Unknown times

The officers forming the line guarding the police station could be seen swinging their batons in the air on mass, and could be heard literally roaring battlecries.

Dozens of protesters escaped the kettle on Madeira Drive by jumping down the sea wall. They then ran through the alleyway that emerges at the aquarium entrance and on to the street through an unlocked gate that was subsequently guarded by police.

Freddie Mohun
mail e-mail: freddiemh@gmail.com


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