What do you call a burly man in uniform who inflicts gratuitous bodily harm on a woman half his size? A police officer, of course.
It’s official, in fact it’s long been official, it’s just that before it was not acknowledged so openly, and so arrogantly.
A police office can assault you, including with a weapon. A police office can even, with the most tenuous quasi-justification, take out a gun and shoot you dead, murder you in cold blood, and although the authorities may go through the motions, at the end of the day nothing will be done.
Don’t take my word for it, ask James Ashley. Sorry, you can’t, he’s dead. He was shot and killed by a police officer who thought he may have been going for his gun, even though he was naked at the time.
Remember the fragrant Sergeant Smellie of the Met who slapped a woman in the face with his gauntletted hand and then whacked her on the back of her leg as she was walking away from him? Because the assault was filmed, he had to be charged, but of course, different standards apply to the boys in blue. Can you, dear reader, imagine any scenario, any one at all, in which a member of the public would not be convicted of assault for attacking a woman with a weapon as she was walking away from him?
Now, the privilege money can’t buy has been extended even further, right into the cop shop itself. Take a look at this video. Note the BBC has put a warning on it. The thug who did this, and injured her face permanently, was sacked, and then gaoled. As you would expect him to have been.
Then, after spending a mere six days in clink, his conviction was quashed. Surprise, surprise. Now to add insult to facial injury, custody sergeant Mark Andrews has been unsacked and reinstated at his old rank. To their credit, the local police authority expressed disappointment, but have been overruled by an independent police tribunal. Yeah, sure it’s independent. If a woman isn’t safe in a police station, where is she safe?
This is what the Assistant Chief Constable of Wiltshire said after Andrews was convicted: “We will not shirk from our responsibility to continue to ensure that we provide a professional service to the public.”
Does that include rehiring a thug, with back pay too, no doubt?
Back in early August, police in Tottenham shot dead Mark Duggan. The so-called Independent Police Complaints Commission is really dragging its feet over this one. When finally it announces that no action is to be taken, the natives will kick off. Before you do, boys and girls, bear this in mind, it ain’t nuthin’ t’do with racism, they treat us all with contempt. So if you must riot, don’t take it out on the local shopkeepers. Let us say no more than that.
One other thing, if you’re thinking of committing a murder, make sure you obtain a warrant card first. You’ll be surprised the difference it makes to the subsequent investigation. That’s if they even bother to ask you about the gun.
[The above op-ed was first published December 5, 2011. At the time of writing – February 24, 2023 – the video of the brutalisation of Pamela Somerville has been removed from the BBC website although the related article is still there. The piece of filth responsible was sacked, prosecuted, convicted and jailed for 6 months. After 6 days he was bailed pending an appeal, his conviction was quashed and Wiltshire Police were ordered to reinstate him, if you can believe that. To their credit, the force refused to do so, but after losing a judicial review, it was again ordered to. Unreal.]
Back To Digital Journal Index