In the wake of the Mike Brown scandal in the USA anti establishment protests aimed at the police have spread first across America and then across the globe. But is it really surprising that a police officer would shot down an unarmed man in the street? There have been hundreds of cases of murder and severe brutality by the police all over the world, here I will look at just a few of the worst cases in Britain and try to answer why these crimes against society keep occurring.

Mark Duggan

In August 2011 the Metropolitan police shot and killed Mark Duggan while attempting to arrest him, claiming they believed he was in possession of a handgun. This turned out to be untrue, Mr Duggan had in fact thrown the gun away before police had opened fire and had only been in possession of the weapon for around 10 minutes. (edit;) And in fact many witnesses and the family of Mark Duggan maintain that he had never been in possession of the weapon and that the police actually planted the gun after the shooting. (see comment below from Carole Duggan, aunt of Mark) Despite never having seen the weapon and being under no threat, the police shot him dead. This led to days of rioting that started in London and then spread around the UK, during that time several innocent citizens caught up in the trouble were also violently assaulted by the police. One such man was an innocent tourist struck over the head while trying to find a tube station, the video of this attack sparked rage across the country.

Ian Tomlinson

In April 2009 Ian Tomlinson was walking home from work during the G20 riots. On his way he inadvertently wandered into the area of the riots and while trying to find his way out he was struck by a metropolitan police officer. This was despite the fact that he had committed no crime and played no part in the riots, Ian was merely an innocent bystander. He collapsed and died on the street shortly afterwards due to the injuries caused by the officers truncheon blow. The entire event was captured on video and this video caused national outrage. Despite an inquest ruling that he had been unlawfully killed, the officer responsible was found not guilty of manslaughter.

Orgreave

During the 1984 miners strike South Yorkshire police engaged in a brutal battle with striking miners at the Orgreave coking plant. The trouble started when the police deployed huge numbers of mounted officers to disperse a peaceful picket line, the miners understandably defended themselves by throwing bottles and bricks in an attempt to stop the police onslaught. After a continued attack by mounted officers the miners had sustained numerous casualties and retreated into the nearby town of catcliffe, it was here whilst tending to their injured and eating their lunches that the police rode into the town and battered the placid miners with truncheons. This occurred nowhere near the picket line and while the miners posed no threat to anyone, they were totally innocent victims of one of the most brutal mass assaults this country has ever seen. And this was at the hands of the police, men who’s wages were paid by their taxes.

Jean Charles de Menezes

In July 2005 the London Metropolitan police shot dead Brazilian student Jean Charles de Menezes for jumping a London underground turnstile when asked to stop by police fearing he was a terrorist. He was not a terrorist, not even a minor criminal, he was just a student. His crime? He had overstayed his student visa… And just for his split second panicked decision to run rather than speak to police he was gunned down, unarmed and in broad daylight. Despite widespread anger and condemnation of their actions the metropolitan police continue to defend their actions to this day, claiming they were just trying to protect people. Well they certainly failed there, who was protecting this poor student when the police decided to end his life? Nobody…

The cases I have mentioned here are just a sample of the worst from the 1000’s that have occurred but they clearly illustrate the problem. The police in Britain (and around the world) are abusing their power to assault, injure, and even murder the citizens they are charged to protect. Why does this keep happening? Simply, because they can get away with it… The officers concerned with events like this never face criminal charges for their actions, much like the officer in the Mike Brown case which has caused such widespread anger. While ever police officers continue to be above the law themselves they cannot be expected to uphold the law. Besides that, the fact that the main role of police is to protect the interest of the ruling classes (to stop petty crimes such as theft) only exasperates this situation, making the police forget their own class allegiances and look down on vast swathes of the population they are supposed to protect. The problem is clear, we cannot continue to give any man such power over his fellow man. If murder is murder, we cannot sanction it just because the perpetrator is a police officer. Assault is assault, regardless of who carries it out. If we must have a law, those enforcing it cannot continue to be above it. And what is clearest of all is that our authorities cannot continue to have the power to end our lives. That is something that violates every human right that we no longer have.