Police as Protector - not Provocateur Part II

It's been a while since my last posts, but what has emerged since then has unfortunately proven a point, with very sad and dire consequences.



It's not that I am sitting here and yelling 'I told you so'. A full and proper investigation is needed. You can see from the incident with Ian Tomlinson that the police response to the slight dragging of his feet needs to be questioned. Proper answers and explanations must be given to why the police even acted in this way.

What does make me feel sad though is the new recruit of Jade Godfather, Max Clifford. I just felt it was such a shame that Nicola Fisher had to run to the PR guru to appear to cash in on the incident. Oh dear. I feel she would have had more kudos had she come forward and not cashed in. Made a statement without the 'I'm a victim, now give me some money' weighting.



There is no denying that the police reaction to Ms Fisher's goading was disproportionate. There is also no denying that some of the police officers had been having a tough time, with all leave cancelled. There is no denying that the way the police handled the G20 protest has left a legacy. I do hope this will be a legacy that means people can march again, peacefully and effectively. My only fear is that it may lead to the end of protests for fear of more deaths (please, no!).

Now it's time for those in charge who are so in fear of protestors to take stock and reevaluate. There is always an element of troublemakers in these protests, yes. When all and sundry are boxed in isn't it harder to tell the good guys from the bad? Ms Fisher seems to be a (albeit wobbly) case in point.

Let them march, let the protest be heard. Let the good guys go home after a day they spent standing up for something that they thought was right, no matter what people watching them thought. I can't help feeling that had the protestors been allowed to march as they had planned that there is every possiblilty these two incidents would not have happened. There. I told you so.