British Police out of control?

British cops get away with murder – literally!

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

First – well, was it the first one? – we have Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, just after 7/7 and the other aborted attempt of suicide bombs in London some weeks later, who was gunned down by armed police officer of the anti-terrorist unit mistaken for a terrorist. The question here is as to whether that actually were cops and not SAS men. The entire operation had the signature of security services and SAS all over it.

And then we have had in 2006 the murder of the Nigerian businessman Frank Ogboru, 43, in London on holiday, who was sprayed with CS gas and pinned down after a minor row. Witnesses said officers had their "knees and feet'' on him as he "wailed like a dog".

But the CPS decided there was insufficient evidence" for any officers to be charged in connection with the death in Woolwich in 2006. What a surprise – NOT!

In both cases the cops got away scott free with killing someone. In the latter instance the CPS has decided NOT to press charged despite all the CCTV video and other evidence that clearly the police officers were extremely heavy handed and that their action directly contributed to the death of the person.

A pathologist even gave: “asphyxia during restraint" as the cause of death but the CPS decided "a jury would find that the restraint was not unlawful”. How come the CPS knows what or what not a jury would find unless the judge would, as is so often the case in court cases in this country, instruct the jury that they must find this way or that and cannot find any other way.

Then again, we all know that British Justice is the best that money can buy, if you have the money, that is.

Are cops in Britain now above the law?

Theoretically they are not and should not be but the more of this that we are seeing the more we must ask the question as to whether they – one – think that they are above the lay and – two – whether, somewhere along the line they are made more and more to be above the law.

I remember years ago already cops that we still rather wet behind the ears banding about comments like “I am the law”, also to yours truly, upon which I informed one officer of the truth with the comments “No, officer, you are NOT the law. You are but a law enforcement officer”. But the attitude was creeping in then in the late 1970's but it may have been there already, though I remember old officers who never seem to have had that attitude. Now, though, it would seem that even the highest officers have the attitude that they are above the law and, again and again, it seems to be borne out by the fact that no actions are taken even when it is truly murder or at least manslaughter.

Methinks it is high time that the law makers and the public, through their elected bodies and otherwise, put a stop to the abuse of power by the police. The abuse of power and powers that they do not have and should not have either. The actions during the Olympic torch relay in London as well showed this heavy-handedness that has become the common culture and currency in the police services across the UK, it would appear. Some of our police, and other agencies, are beginning to act like those agencies in countries with repressive regimes and which we, including our politicians – at times, rightly condemn. We have begun to head down a very slippery slope towards a police state. The surveillance state we already have and are, considering that the UK has more CCTV cameras per head of population than any other European country. Not something that we should be proud of, especially since it has made not one iota of a difference, a fact even admitted by police forces up and down the country, in fighting crime and deterring it. So much for the great hype.

Now the Independent Police Complaints Commission will decide on whether action should be taken in respect of the officers involved in the manslaughter or even murder of Frank Ogboru. The very same commission that basically found that no one was responsible for the murder of the Brazilian electrician at Stockwell Tube station. A whitewash and a farce is all that that is going to be, yet again. It is time, I should think, that one might examine actually as to how independent the Independent Police Complaints Commission actually is.

Many question, I think, but I doubt that we will ever get honest answers.

© M Smith (Veshengro), May 2008