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Last week police, politicians and media outlets were lining up to condemn protesters in Bristol when a peaceful demonstration against the Tory government bill to stop protests in the UK descended into violence. This is how The Guardian reported the story:
Bully Home Secretary Priti Patel said “Unacceptable scenes in Bristol. Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated. Our police officers put themselves in harms way to protect us all."
Avon and Somerset police originally announced that 40 of its officers had sustained injuries. Most seriously, it said that two had broken bones, and one of them also had a punctured lung. Yet by the end of the week, the force had admitted that this was not true. What is still not known is how many in the crowd were injured. A first aider on duty during the demo told the Observer that he personally treated six protesters, including people with bleeding head wounds, serious bruising and eye injuries. The first aider, who asked not be named, said he was also struck repeatedly with a baton. “I told the policeman I was a first aider but he continued beating me,” he said. “I had to go to hospital and I now need weeks of physiotherapy.”
An NHS worker on duty that night told the Observer that no officers were treated in the hospital designated for the police, whereas the hospital designated for protesters was inundated with injured people. The worker, who also asked not to be named, said: “Over the course of the night the hospitals that were taking protesters filled and the hospital taking police did not see a single officer.”
www.theguardian.com
Bully Home Secretary Priti Patel said “Unacceptable scenes in Bristol. Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated. Our police officers put themselves in harms way to protect us all."
Avon and Somerset police originally announced that 40 of its officers had sustained injuries. Most seriously, it said that two had broken bones, and one of them also had a punctured lung. Yet by the end of the week, the force had admitted that this was not true. What is still not known is how many in the crowd were injured. A first aider on duty during the demo told the Observer that he personally treated six protesters, including people with bleeding head wounds, serious bruising and eye injuries. The first aider, who asked not be named, said he was also struck repeatedly with a baton. “I told the policeman I was a first aider but he continued beating me,” he said. “I had to go to hospital and I now need weeks of physiotherapy.”
An NHS worker on duty that night told the Observer that no officers were treated in the hospital designated for the police, whereas the hospital designated for protesters was inundated with injured people. The worker, who also asked not to be named, said: “Over the course of the night the hospitals that were taking protesters filled and the hospital taking police did not see a single officer.”
'Protest is a human right': one long week in Bristol, a city with a history of dissent
Demonstrations against the police bill follow a long tradition of radicalism. Protesters say that, after last week’s violence, their side of the story has not been told
www.theguardian.com