Policing or GBH?

Footage emerged a couple of weeks back of a specialist firearms officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man who was in a tussle with officers. I’ve heard the argument that he used this force because they were at risk of their guns being stolen. This begs the question, should we be using guns at all if every time you enter a scene you need to soccer kick some lad in the head to feel secure? The man has been left with a cyst on the brain, which will be of no surprise to anyone who has seen the video.

The reaction online had been filled by Daily Mail readers suggesting that police need to act this tough more often. If only we’d continue to see this energy with the recent riots by the far right. The people who believe that soccer kicking someone in the head is acceptable are the same people who spend their weekends ranting on Facebook about how all pedophiles should be given the death penalty. They’ll tell you that Farage just says what we’re all thinking, not understanding that what we’re all thinking is how much of a bellend he is.

I’ve seen this type of policing in Thailand, which isn’t exactly the bedrock of human rights. If you enter the country with a joint in your pocket they’ll murder you by lethal injection in the Bangkok Hilton. There’s being tough on crime and then there’s this incident at Manchester airport, a man in uniform committing GBH. All that this type of policing does is shrink the disparity between the state and criminals. Not that there’s much of a disparity, more a blurred line. It’s worth noting that the police officer has been suspended for his actions while an investigation is ongoing. They say the police are the biggest gang of them all, let’s see it they can push their loyalties to the side and punish the officer with the full force of the law.