I hope this guy sues.

This guy is so couragous.

Clearly the Police officers involved were upset by him excercising his rights.

Yet again, another example of them overstepping their authority and punishing the man for not submitting to their 'authoriteye!' (You have to imagine that said in a Cartman style.)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/feb/21/photographer-films-anti-terror-arrest

However, This a clear example of how video footage give an insight into the situation.

If this man had not had video footage, do you think that he would have been released without charge?

I had a flight of fancy that someone might post a link of an officer being helpful and non intrusive after a stop such as this. I promise to post footage should I ever come across it and invite anyone reading to comment with a link if they find beforehand.

Deaths in Custody - Statistics

Inspired by my visit to Brixton Police Station, I got to wondering about a league table with regard to deaths in custody.

So I have made around 30 Freedom of information requests (Using www.whatdotheyknow.com ) to the police forces in England and asked them to provide the following information:

1) How many deaths in custody have occurred in the last 5 years?

2) Which station was responsible for each person who died? (Eg. Bromley: X deaths. Brixton: Y deaths. Etc.)

3) How many members of the public are served by the police stations where deaths occurred?

I am hoping that by dividing the number of people a station is responsible by the number of deaths in custody, I will be able to give each one a rating. This will mean that I can target those with unusually high ratings for campaigns.

Armed with this information, residents who live in the catchment area of the stations in question can ask their MP's to investigate on their behalf using www.theyworkforyou.com

You can tell that I am inspired by the accountability that is standard in the education system and I am even trying to work out how I can do a colour coded map of England to show these results.

I would like to point out that I understand that due to the nature of the job, there are likely to be deaths that are not suspicious. However, I do await the data with interest to see if my suspicions are justified.

I went to Brixton...

I went to Brixton this half term for a music event which meant that I was at a loose end for several hours a day.

I had no idea where I was when I took this picture through the window of my car.

It turned out that I was outside the infamous Brixton Police Station.

I think that there should be one of these outside every police station where an unexplained death has occured. It certainly had a strong emotional response from me and would serve not only to remember those who have died or suffered abuse, it would raise awareness.

I am considering getting a waterproof WNOW logo to add to this and maybe look up the legality of posting more.

Anyway, more photos...

Just a mile down the road.

This sounds very familiar and only a mile or so down the road.

They saw 'scum' in this family. I see another family who would not help the police if they were on fire.

How do they expect to police by consent when they so clearly alienate people based on prejudices?

Unless this incident is the direction modern policing is going in deliberately.

http://www.bromleytimes.co.uk/content/bromley/times/newnews/story.aspx?brand=BMLYTOnline&category=news&tBrand=bmlytonline&tCategory=znews&itemid=WeED10%20Feb%202010%2014%3A10%3A41%3A693

Are things changing?

Will this make a difference? Or will the serial apologists use the bad apple excuse and continue to ignore similar corruption? Another angle is that the reason that his fellow officers have allowed this to happen is because of prejudice.

The behaviour described in reports fits my experience of the police. Then again, making stuff up about a person who has made their lives difficult (Even if it is with pesky concepts like truth, justice and freedom of speech.) rings true also.

As such, even when convicting one of their own, I am left wondering what the real story is.

It would be alot easier to come to a more sound conclusion if there was video footage of the incident.



Ali Dizaei sentenced to four years in jail

The most senior British police officer ever convicted was found guilty of arresting a web designer in a dispute over money

* The Guardian, Tuesday 9 February 2010
* Article history

Ali Dizaei

Met police chief Ali Dizaei, 47, who was convicted of 'fitting up' a web designer after a clash with him in 2008. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA

The most senior British police officer ever convicted of corruption offences was starting a four-year prison sentence ­yesterday after a jury found he had tried to frame an innocent man and told a series of lies in an attempt to cover up his abuse of office.

Ali Dizaei, a commander with Scotland Yard, was convicted of falsely arresting a web designer in a dispute over money and then lying in official statements when he claimed he had been assaulted and threatened by the man.

Dizaei's 25-year police career will end with him being drummed out of the force in disgrace and almost certain to lose his pension after a clash in the street outside a restaurant which saw him abuse his authority as one of the Britain's top officers.

Nick Hardwick, chair of the IPCC, said: "Dizaei behaved like a bully … The greatest threat to the reputation of the police service is criminals in uniform like Dizaei."

Dizaei, 47, remained defiant and told the Guardian the case was "completely outrageous and a fit-up". He said that he had been pursued by the authorities, who had a "vendetta" against him.

Dizaei was an outspoken critic of the police on race, leader of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), and a key ­figure in a race war that erupted at the top of Scotland Yard in the summer of 2008.

He had been cleared of criminal charges in 2003 and returned to duty despite Scotland Yard having suspected him of serious offences. That inquiry was intensified after MI5 had suspicions that the Iranian-born officer was a danger to national security.

In the case that ended yesterday at Southwark crown court, the crown alleged that on 18 July 2008, Dizaei had clashed with Waad al-Baghdadi, who claimed the police commander owed him £600 for a website he had designed for him.

Dizaei arrested the 24-year-old then, using the special call sign given to him as a commander – Metro 35 – called for back-up to take his prisoner away. He claimed to have been assaulted and poked in the stomach with the mouthpiece of a shisha pipe. Dizaei filled out official statements and maintained his false account on the witness stand.

Baghdadi spent 24 hours in a cell and six weeks on bail before it was decided he would not face charges. Scotland Yard handed the case over to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which investigated Dizaei. He becomes the most famous scalp obtained by a watchdog that has faced questions about its effectiveness.

Last night Baghdadi told the BBC: "I've had a very, very difficult past two years of my life, trying to stand up to this man with all of his connections."

The jury were unanimous in finding Dizaei guilty of misconduct in public office and attempting to pervert the course of justice, deliberating for two hours and 31 minutes following a four-week trial.

Before he was sentenced, Dizaei told the Guardian that the case was a way of "bullying" him out of the police. "Nobody is going to bully me out of a job, not the director of public prosecutions, not the IPCC and not the Metropolitan Police Authority."

Dizaei said if he had been acquitted he would have returned to work and ­dismissed the case against him, saying this trial had proved more of a strain than his first, in 2003: "This is worse. It is purely a personal vendetta by the IPCC and CPS. The IPCC did not like the challenge I and the NBPA made to the way it dealt with our members. The CPS could never take the egg off their faces after the last time."

Sentencing Dizaei, the trial judge, Mr Justice Simon, said the length of the sentence had to contain "an element of deterrent" given the "grave breach of public trust and abuse of your authority as a commander in the Metropolitan police".

The judge accepted Dizaei was "an exceptional officer" who had received glowing performance reviews but said he had arrested Baghdadi for "an assault that never occurred".

Wearing a smart suit and glasses, the man once tipped as a possible head of British policing was sullen, simply picking up his overcoat as he was taken down to start a four-year sentence.

Scotland Yard's commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, accepted the case had ­damaged the reputation of British policing. "Bearing in mind his rank and disgraceful behaviour he should not be surprised at the severity of his sentence," he said.

Speaking outside court, Gaon Hart of the CPS said: "Mr Dizaei's corruption, which would have been deplorable in any police officer, was all the more so given his position. The public entrust the police with considerable powers and with that comes considerable responsibility."

Police/public relations.

Well, I had an interesting experience last night.

A neighbour who I only vaguely knew had an incident with her partner.

They both have alcohol problems and this type of incident was far from uncommon as far as I am aware.

My attention was brought to the situation when I heard a disturbance (Do you like the police speak there :) ) outside as the police took this ladies partner away.

We invited her into our home while the police finished up and she told me that he was being taken to Plumsted station which is some distance away especially in comparison to the local Bromley station.

I went out to ask the officers why he was being taken so far from his home as his partner was distressed about the aftermath and maybe having to go and meet him. I had my camcorder to hand so took it with me.

At first I was ignored, then I was mocked for the camera. Rather than responding to my query, they were hostile and demanded irrelevant information from me.

When it was clear that I was not cowed by the confrontational attitude, a burly Sergeant formally and forcefully introduced himself and in no uncertain terms told me that he would tell me no information other than the station they came from.

I found this very interesting because it may surprise some that I did not think that the Police were wrong to take the man away. What I did find disappointing was their lack of commitment to the bigger picture.

They knew that I had the lady in my home and it was obvious to any who looked that I had her interests at heart.

A little joined up co operation would have been in the ladies interests. However, I think that the crime targets that IG speaks of, certainly would have had it's crime number and a positive (from that targets perspective) outcome.

However, the Police could not help her due to her long seated mistrust of them, but Simon and I sat her down, gave her some hot food and tea and mainly listened. (She was afraid that her partner would blame her for his arrest but we let her know that the law had changed so that they could press charges even without her consent or cooperation. She was reassured by this somewhat.)

She thanked us several hours later, saying that she had never been offered support in that way, and we told her (often and copiously, you know what alcohol does to the memory :) ) that it really wasn't a problem.

I know that I would feel better with the police's support rather than hostility, that maybe we could together make a long term difference to this woman's life.

As it is, the police got a result and there is potential for further targets to be met. This is particularly likely if there is no follow up or referral for this couple until his court date. Let's face it, not one of the root causes for this issue was helped by his arrest.

It is this purely reactionary stance that police take that alienates the support of the community. Imagine how it could be if they actually got off of their superior high horses, tried to consider that maybe not all the people they come into contact with are scum and engaged with the community properly!

Do you think that if those officers who I met last night had the true public interest at heart, that their attitude would have been different?

08/02/10 Edit: The man was released without charge the next day.
Here is the highlights of the footage: