Off Topic Colstons Statue - Again

So an independent investigation into the toppling of the statue has come down on the side of the Police for not doing what they should have done and that was arrest as many idiots as possible and disperse the rest. The City Council were also involved beforehand, with the Police, and between them decided that it wasn't necessary to protect the statue.

It says -
An independent investigation has found that it was "difficult" for police to predict that a statue would be pulled down during a protest in Bristol.
A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the toppling of statues was a "very rare occurrence".

Avon and Somerset Police welcomed the "fair and measured" report.

YES I BET THEY DID !!!

HMICFRS investigated the force's handling of the Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol last summer as part of a wider report commissioned by the Home Secretary into how effectively the police manage demonstrations.
"Without intelligence to suggest the protesters' intentions, it would have been difficult to predict that the statue would be pulled down. In the UK, this is a very rare occurrence," they said.
Inspectors said that police contacted Bristol City Council on 5 June to alert them to the possibility of damage to the statue, asking them to consider measures to protect it.
The council said that a decision had been taken at an online strategic co-ordinating group meeting, also involving the police, on the day before the protest that it was not necessary to protect the statue.
The HMICFRS inspectors said: "It is clear that, even in the absence of any intelligence to indicate that the Colston statue was going to be attacked, the multi-agency strategic group did consider the possibility of graffiti.
"Police attendees at the meeting told us that they weighed up the risks of what they thought may be minor damage to the statue against the risk of provoking major disorder by covering it up.
"The police received a lot of criticism on social media and in the press following the damage to the statue. Having examined the facts, we don't believe this criticism was fully justified."

WTAF ??

It also said police could have made stronger representations to the council to protect the statue by, for example, boarding it up.
The report stated that at a multi-agency debrief held after the protest, it was noted that pulling down the statue had not been a spontaneous act, as ropes had been brought to the location.
Inspectors praised Chief Constable Andy Marsh's comments to the media in the aftermath of the protest, calling them "measured and sensible".
Mr Marsh said at the time that intervening to arrest suspects was likely to have led to injuries to suspects and officers, as well as a potentially "very violent confrontation with the police that could have had serious ramifications for the city of Bristol and beyond".
He welcomed the findings of the report, adding: "I whole-heartedly believe the command team made the right decisions on the day in extremely unique circumstances."

WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT, THE PERFECT NO BLAME OUTCOME WE SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED

The Chief of Avon & Somerset Police and the Mayor should be sacked over their inactions.

 

the people of Bristol have an opportunity comingup some labour ????? phoned me yesterday ..canvassing .. his name was Sam Fox standing as a prospective councillor for Stockwood, I asked him 3 or 4 questions didn't know the answers .. his guesses were wide of the mark one was about Bristol airport other statements made regarded the wastefulness over the past 5 years of £m's wasted on Temple meads project … metro bus …. failure to address small problems like unsafe walls and decaying residences would cost a pin prick in comparison and not be wasteful .. VOTE OUT THE MAYOR by actually going and voting .. past 2 occasions very few have voted ….

 

sends a very bad message "do what you want, we get big fat salaries as policemen but are whimpish to actually fulfil our job description.. that is police" I suppose that is why they would sooner pick on motorists ……………..

 

Why would covering up a statue provoke major disorder? Obviously there was intelligence that violent extremist are part of BLM demos.

Why would arresting people provoke very violent confrontation? Obviously there was intelligence that violent extremist are part of BLM demos.

Clear political policing. One rule for BLM and another for us.

 

We need Piers Morgan to get involved and tell a few home truths !

 

how does covering up a statue provoke disorder but not covering it doesnt???? is it something to do with the material used to cover the statue not being environmentally friendly symbolic of oppressive capitalist apparatus or summat?

 

We have an opportunity to do that in a few weeks, leader of the opposition is canvassing people on the strength of 1% for nurses, or NHS in general. He was in Bristol today. It shows how weak their platform is when there are other more important issues.

 

Sorry mate, I'm not having that !!! I am as bloody annoyed as the rest of us on here about the Colston issue, what happened on the day and the subsequent whitewash! Senior Police officers and Council officials are to blame for this, not the rank and file who, these days in particular, have a ****ty job attempting to clear up what society in general has allowed to proliferate.

If you really want to go down the lines of motorists.... all I will say is that death and serious injury on the roads has become socially acceptable in this country until it happens to you. I know, because I have had dealings with it!!

 

Starmer backing Dan 'expenses king' Norris.
Norris was found to be 3rd in the all time list of outrageous parliamentary expense claims.
Norris can't get a job anywhere, hence turning up after keeping his head down over expenses.

 

the rank and file do as they are told, the big fat salaries are at the top, get the money and dictate … rank and file like everyone else in ES get peppercorn for what they have to do … i often speak to a cop on my walks .. has a kerb mounted camera [ off the path/road ] he has a method which is quite reasonable … he push's the button!!! .. max speed without nip is 25 … 25.1 over the mark …. he presses his button according to the motorist …. and it is very very fair .. uses his noggin! In Hampshire I got a warning for going through traffic lights on amber police car was behind me whom I was aware … some month's later I got a warning from a police car behind me for stopping to quickly at a light that started changing … both their arguments were sensible although not exactly practical [ on both occasions I was across the junction as the red showed! ] ...

 

Utter nonsense, at the moment there is a groundswell of populist outcry about nurses 1% pay rise, when the reality is that the wages of the emergency services, police, fire, nurses and ambulance service are pretty much on a par.

The whole post is ill informed at best, the rank and file do as they are told and so it has always been, if the bosses say persecute the motorists then that is exactly what happens.

It might interest you to know that you can now join the police service with a degree which will make you a superintendent after just 2 years, that is 4 promotions that should take up to 20 years to normally attain. The sad reality is for most of these people the worst type of disorder they have ever seen is a food fight or water fight during rag week.

 

the second incident was on my way into Liverpool BTW

 

Thanks for that. I was wondering where the second incident was all day and was starting to think I may not sleep tonight without knowing.

 

One has to more precise! Sleep tight... but don't forget to take off your wellies!

 

just been reading about the Clapham common police action …. wonder what the HMICFRS inspectors will say about this one!!!! Man handling women breaking the covid rules, admittedly .. but with less chance of catching it as the number of people per 100k are far less than Eddie's spectacle and no criminal damage! This has got the exact opposite response to Bristol …..

• Police can break up illegal gatherings and issue fines of £10,000 to someone holding a gathering of more than 30 people
• During last year's restrictions, when Black Lives Matter and anti-lockdown demonstrations took place,police took a hands-off approach to protests

 

But still an illegal gathering - not one of this morning's "impartial" commentators bothered to mention this fact!!

 

Absolutely mate.

This is a heart breaking case made even worse that the alleged person responsible is a police officer. However the bitter irony for me is, where was all of this outrage, publicity and scrutiny after the national scandals of Rotherham, Rochdale and every other city and town where girls were groomed, raped and abused on an industrial scale? A national scandal where the CPS lead by Keir Starmer tried to stop investigations at the altar of race relations, where was Baroness Jones and the baying sisterhood mob then? Yet again the hypocrisy is mind numbing.

 

, me too

 

Not as straight forward as that though is it? , and even if illegal still needs to be dealt with sympathetically especially as the person thought to have committed the murder was a policeman, also other cities handled similar incidents sensitively. As football fans I’m sure we’ve all seen incidents which could have been handled better by our friends in blue.