Even by the usual standards of sleb gossip this is poor stuff. And no, like the Diana underwear adverts in China, I just can't arsed to link to it.
UPDATE - Credit where it's due though. I saw that thing about the Doctor Who girl dropping her phone after following a link to a Mail article from another blog and happened to notice the story in the sleb stuff they always put down one side of their web pages. For some reason I clicked the Mail's homepage before leaving and saw that their top headline was this:
Lifted like a rag doll and hurled into cell: Shocking video of police brutality... on 5ft 2in tall woman, 59, found asleep in car.Okay, it's next to a picture of Liam Neeson and some woman - don't care, didn't read - and The Mail seems unable to decide if she's 59 as per the headline or 57 as per the beginning of the article (all becomes clear later - she was 57 when she was filled in at a police station and is now 59), but at least a story about police brutality has got the attention it deserves. I suggest you go read it and be outraged by Sergeant Mark Andrews' behaviour towards someone over a foot shorter than him. I am just about old enough that my parents brought me up telling me that if I was in some kind of trouble I should always ask a policeman. Now I think back on it they never said what to ask him, but I very much doubt they were thinking along the lines of 'please stop hitting me, officer', though being a similar size to the bastard I have little doubt I'd have got a shoeing from a pair of them. The only thing that makes the police look at any good is that the cop involved was at least charged and was found guilty, thanks in no small part to a fellow copper, PC Rachel Webb, who saw it happen, complained immediately and went to court to give evidence. That she was prepared to complain about and give evidence against a higher ranked officer (a title the bastard clearly doesn't deserve) does show that they're not all bad, but you have to wonder how many incidents like this might be swept under the carpet because junior officers fear retribution (probably the career blighting kind rather than anything physical) from the more senior bully boys or have ambitions of one day becoming more senior bully boys themselves.
"It should be stated that despite her harrowing experience, privately educated Ms Somerville, who has a degree in microbiology from Warwick University, is not consumed with hatred of the police.
ReplyDelete‘There are good and bad apples everywhere,’ she offers magnanimously."
She's certainly been proved right about that.
And I notice the incident was initally sparked by a PCSO.
Yeah, shouldn't be any great surprise, eh?
ReplyDeleteHaving thought more about it since posting I think the two most disturbing aspects are that the assault happened despite all the CCTV which, since he was the bloody custody officer, the sergeant clearly knew about. Even under their own cameras some police seem to be so power high that they just don't give a shit. Secondly, also CCTV related, is that the amount of time she spent face down and motionless under the cell camera. You'd have thought having slammed her into the floor the bastard would use the camera to keep an eye on her, and then go and back and check. Either he could see and didn't care or he didn't care enough even to check.
Let's see what sentence he ends up with on Tuesday.
"Let's see what sentence he ends up with on Tuesday." - A fucking sight more than the six months being mentioned in the article, I hope...
ReplyDeletePC Webb is apparently being recommended for a commendation for shopping Andrews.
Doubt it, microdave. Magistrates court, so I've a feeling that six months is the upper limit. A suspicious bastard might even wonder if that's why it was at the magistrates in the first place, though I think they're supposed to bounce it up to county or whatever if they think the offence may deserve a stronger sentence than they can impose. Anyway, my prediction is it probably won't be enough - I doubt he'll serve time or maybe a month tops, but he probably will lose his job.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I noticed that the PC was being recommended for a commendation, and if you ask me she deserves it. You'd hope that anyone fit for the job would have done the same thing but I'm prepared to believe a Constable going up against a Sergeant takes something she's unlikely to have a literal pair of, but she needed to have 'em all the same.