Read on Twitter
Further to this: about 11pm last night we heard a loud argument going on on our street. Two women really having a go at each other, couple of other people with them https://twitter.com/politicsofnv/status/1277021391406149633
The only man there, a black guy, was trying to calm it down and kept saying they had to leave it because he was on a suspended sentence and would end up going back to jail if they attracted the attention of the police
Police car turns up. An officer gets out, makes a bee-line for this man (the other three scarper & aren't pursued). He asks: "Am I being detained? Because if not I'm going too." Answer: "You are being detained now, for a search." Takes his bag, cuffs him, calls for 'another unit'
Another police car turns up, two officers get out. By this point the guy is handcuffed, grumbling about how cops always search people like him but cooperating and posing no threat. Then two more police cars and two or three vans join (later we're told these are tazer officers)
So there's now about thirty cops & seven vehicles for this one, handcuffed, non-violent suspect, and the street is completely blocked. Suspect is really distressed now, and angry, shouting about how he hates the cops and they're racist, and how he's done nothing wrong
We go down to tell the cops what we saw, basically backing up the suspect's story that he was just trying to calm down an argument. We're told they have intelligence saying someone of his description has a knife, that's why they're searching him
Search took over 15 minutes (?!), found nothing. He was getting more and more distressed the whole time. Even after releasing him, cops hang around blocking road, he's still getting angry at them. One says to us "We've found nothing but he's going to talk himself into trouble."
I said "He's only going to talk himself into trouble because you're here provoking him. You're just increasing the chances of an offence being committed." Really felt like they would have loved him to throw a punch at one of them so they could arrest him (or tazer him)
Eventually he left and so did they. They didn't assault him, or wrongfully arrest him, don't think we can make any official complaint. But what a use of resources! The mass of cops did nothing but distress an innocent man & increase the risk of something much worse happening.
Just as revealing was how they treated us, as witnesses. Defensive and hostile throughout. We came out to give them information about what we'd seen, and their first response was to march us back to our front door - we were also surrounded by cops throughout (way under 2m away!)
They didn't want to hear our information in support of the suspect.
"With respect, we didn't see that so we can't know you're telling the truth."
"Why are you searching him?"
"We had a report."
"Yeah, and now we're reporting something else to you."
"Let us do our jobs."
"With respect, we didn't see that so we can't know you're telling the truth."
"Why are you searching him?"
"We had a report."
"Yeah, and now we're reporting something else to you."
"Let us do our jobs."
They were most interested in defending themselves. Almost the first thing they said was "Look, we have to investigate reports, I have to come when a colleague requests backup" - this was before we'd questioned any of their tactics, we were just giving information
We asked how they could justify so many officers for one suspect (who was already handcuffed before even the second officer arrived!): "We can justify anything we like. Don't tell us how to do our jobs." It terrifies me that there are police officers who will openly say that
The idea that the police can justify anything they like is exactly what leads to abuse of power. (It took a lot of restraint for me not to say "I'm a moral philosopher, it's my job to say what can be justified.")
Last thing we were told: "It would be much easier if the community worked with us on this." As far as I'm concerned I'm a lot more sceptical of the police now than I was twenty-four hours ago.
Don't think we can formally complain about anything. But these tactics make us less safe, searching for & provoking hostility. I was scared & angry, and I'm a nerdy middle-class guy who's never been in trouble. Imagine being black, or homeless, having a record - or just a bad day
Sounds like very similar approach to this incident: police jumpy and aggressive, searching any black males, not taking any advice or information that doesn't fit with their preconceptions https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/28/black-teenager-on-family-cycle-ride-injured-during-aggressive-police-arrest
It's as if they have a target for making arrests, rather than for making people safe. And as we hear about an alleged epidemic of violence against the police, note that they are using tactics that escalate situations and make people angry and scared. Perhaps that's the point.
