This video concerns the arrest of two Newcastle fans Mark and Shaun (father and son) for using hand held flares at the Man City V Newcastle match. I witnessed the whole incident.
Approximately 45 minutes before KO, two or three lads let off hand held flares outside of the Etihad Stadium, on stadium land, but outside of the inner security barriers. They were several meters away from passing fans. These flares extinguished themselves after a minute, or two and were never thrown.
Police however ran towards the lads and immediately took hold of two of them. It was clear they were being arrested and handcuffs were used to secure them. This resulted in Shaun being resistive and being taken to the ground by officers. Shaun continued to struggle, resulting in officers needing to escalate their force to secure him. At this point I began filming the incident. Bothe Mark and Shaun were then taken away.
I completely accept that they broke stadium laws, that carrying a pyrotechnic on stadium land is a criminal offence and there are safety issues regarding the flares. However, I personally took exception to the heavy handedness in how police dealt with this incident and I felt that the arrests were unnecessary and disproportionate.
Police of course have powers of arrest under SOCPA and PACE but is a tool that should only be used as a last resort. When an officer makes an arrest, they are required to prove that the arrest was 'necessary' and that the incident couldn't be dealt with in some other way.
The police indeed could have dealt with this incident differently. They could have approached the lads in a way that didn't appear confrontational. They could have taken them to one side, carried out a stop search and then obtained their details. The officers could then have reported the lads for summons to court at a later date and instructed them to leave stadium land. They could then have alerted their colleagues of the incident and to keep an eye on them. Should Mark and Shaun bring unwanted attention to themselves again, the police could have escalated their response.
Instead, the police didn't see an arrest as a last resort, it was their first response, even adding in some alcohol consumption and potential verbals (although there is no evidence of this). The situation obviously then escalated with officers struggling with Shaun on the ground. It caused an unnecessary scene that erodes public trust in the police. It also compromised the safety of the lads, the officers themselves and passers by. It also took four police officers off the street. All of this paid for at public expense. Because of the arrest, the lads also missed their coach and were forced to get back to Newcastle at additional cost and inconvenience.
The police made absolutely no attempt to deal with this situation in more professional and appropriate way and to give the lads an opportunity to curb any anti social behaviour.
In addition, one supporter stood several meters away, was voicing his concern at the scene. He was in no way interfering with arrest. This resulted in another officer coming over and shoving him in the chest, instructing him to get away. This is unjustifiable in law and in fact a criminal assault.
Another way to deal with this incident and is my personal view. The officers could have simply carried out a stop search, obtain their details, give them a verbal warning and instruct them to leave stadium grounds with a warning of arrest should they carry on again. This would have seen the police in a more professional light and is just a decent human being way to behave in the circumstances. If the lads behaved like arses after this warning then they would have had no sympathy from me.
I was personally appalled at the whole police response to this and felt compelled to allow the lads to tell their story. Of course, they are remorseful for their part in breaking the law.
The police in general do amazing work to keep us safe, but this incident was an example of poor policing that should be highlighted.
19 авг 2023
