Photos of Gardai attacking Dail sit-down

by Misha Wed Mar 26, 2003 18:09

To all those nursing bruises and a little resentment here something written up by John McGuffin. John McGuffin was a lifelong anarchist, a writer and free spirit. Anyway -enjoy this short report about the border vixen of Keady-see link below

by xx Sun Mar 23, 2003 23:48

I agree with you hunter, but how did that guy fall unconsicence.. I didnt see any batons been drawn or any punches being thrown. Just the gards dragging people away from the front of the Dail. And that girl who got her hair pulled..so what..he was dragging her by the hood which happened to have her hair in it..Im sure worse things have happened. At the end of the day if you dont want to get hurt then dont block an entrance..it only creates bad press. We could have sat around the perimeter all day long if we wanted and wouldnt have had a run in with the Gards. Its time to use a bit of cop on, and grow up a little.If we are genuine about stopping this war then we have to behave in some sort of civilised manner!!

by hunter Sun Mar 23, 2003 04:43

but quite a large proportion of the ones i have come across are. especially in this country. there are decent cops out there, if only they were in the majority - like that one guy i wrote about in shanno who was chanting "shame, shame" along with us.

but those guys at the dail, i mean, is suppose at the end of the day its their job to do what they are told, its our job to do what we feel is right. i'm sure theres plenty of cops out there who smoke the herb when they come home (probably the same ones who take it of you and say nothing - but thats the law of the jungle). And i'll never forget the first time i took E and was thrown out of the club. this woman cop took me home, and she couldn't have not know i was on E, but she just left me at me gate and then gave me back me two bottles of carlsberg and drove off. she could have got me in shite with me parents but she didn't cos she was actually nice y'know.

but anyway, i digress, those guys at the dail not the most brutal i've witnessed, and i'm pretty sure some of them wanted to leave us there and probably feel the same way as we do. but at the end of the day, we were right and beating that guy unconscious was obvioulsy out of order. but as the cop said "welcome to the real world" - we cannot expect favours from these people.

but that tall guy (is he the boss?) i have a personal hatred towards him. management huh? i know a lamp-post that is in need of a new decoration...

by xx Sun Mar 23, 2003 01:36

I agree with you felix, why try and blame the gardai for doing their job..I know that they have helped me out on a number of occasions. This is about war and not the Gardai.. We are intitalled to protest and speak freely..but it is the assholes that look for trouble with the Gardai that give us a bad name. They are just doing their JOB. I prefer to march without hassle than get into a scuffle, and the Gardai are not going to fight against you unless you want to put it up to them.

by felix da housecat Sat Mar 22, 2003 15:18 felixbadanimal at hotmail dot com

demonising the police is just the same as demonising saddam hussein; or demonising protestors. Why can't we just level it to we are all people ad some cops are assholes, some protestors are assholes, everywhere there are assholes, everywhere there are lovely people.

We could all do better to deal heart to heart person to person than pidgeonholing each other...

what do you think?

i liked this post in among all the other stuff. It's true that when I called the police to a domestic violence scene they took 2 hours to arrive and then laughed when I said I needed a statement; it's true that my friend got a cut in his head at RTS last year.

But it's also true that the police helped me cross the road at the glen of the downs, to take food to the people in the tunnels.

by A time for Peace Sat Mar 22, 2003 01:00

Just something I read Lately:

Me the Lousy Cop..
Well Mr. Citizen, I guess you have me figured out. I seem to fit neatly into the category you place me in. I'm stereotyped, characterized, classified, grouped, and ALWAYS typical. I'm the "lousy cop".
Unfortunately, the reverse is not true. I can never figure you out.
From birth you teach your kids that I am a person to beware of...then you are actually shocked when they idenify me with my traditional enemy, the criminal.

You acuse me of coddling juveniles, until I catch your kid doing something wrong. You may take an hour for lunch, and several coffee breaks each day, but point me out as a loafer if you see me having just one cup.

You pride yourself on your polished manners, but think nothing of interrupting my meals at noon with your troubles.

You raise hell about the guy who cuts you off in traffic, but let me catch you doing the same thing and Im picking on you.
You know all the traffic laws, but never got one single ticket you deserve. You shout "Foul!" if you observe me driving fast enroute to an emergency call, but literally raise hell if I take more than ten seconds responding to YOUR call!!

You call it "part of my job" if somebody strikes me, but its "police brutality" if I stike back. You wouldnt think of telling you dentist how to pull a badly decayed tooth, or your doctor how to take out your appendix, but you are ALWAYS willing to give me pointers on law enforcement.

You talk to me in a manner and use language that would assure a bloody nose from someone else, but you expect me to stand there and take it without batting an eye.

You cry "Something HAS to be done about all the crime!" but you cant be bothered with getting involved. You've got no use for me at all, but, of course, its OK if I change a tire for your wife, or deliver your baby in the back seat of my patrol car on the way to the hospital, or save your sons life with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, or work many hours overtime to find your lost daughter.

So, Dear Citizen, you stand there on your soapbox and rant and rave about the way O do my job, calling me every name in the book, but never stop a minute to think that your property, your family, or mabye your life might depend on one thing...ME, or one of my buddies.

YES, ME the Lousy Cop!!!!!

by free legal advise Fri Mar 21, 2003 20:46

Lets face it the Gardai will never go against one of their own. A judge will never support a normal punter's word over a Garda's.

Before you lodge any complaints contact Paul Gogarty TD, he witnessed it all. A judge is more likely to take your word if it's backed up by a TD. Unfortunatly that's the world we live in. Whether Deputy Gogarty has the balls to support your complaint, that's another issue. But ring up his office and put it up to him!

by Seanin Fri Mar 21, 2003 19:25

If you see one of them injured or dying somewhere or in need of help, just leave the fucker. Don't say anything, don't attack them. Just leave them. They're all animals.

by conor Fri Mar 21, 2003 18:48 conor at ziplip dot com

dragged 3 times, a knee in the balls from garda c69.

im not going to bother with the complaints board.its a total fcking waste of time.

i was linking arms with the guy who went unconcious.does anyone know how he is?

by LD Fri Mar 21, 2003 18:05

I was one of the people peacefully sitting in front of the gates of Dail Erron. While linked to other protesters the Inspector Sargeant in charge Mr.Keenan very slyly dragged me by my HAIR several yards from where I was! The way Inspector Keenan did this was in such a way that it was not obvious to onlookers, he grabbed my hair under the hood of my jacket.
I confronted him afterwards and asked him why he used such brutal unnecessary force on me. He replied, "welcome to the real world!".
I am going to lodge an official complaint and ask them to release all their cctv footage of the event!

by michael keller - irish abroad for peace Fri Mar 21, 2003 18:02 anamcaratx at oceanfree dot net

Gardai are merely little tools. They are not paid or trained to think critically. Pity them for their frustrated impotence.

by give us time and help Fri Mar 21, 2003 16:37

have no time in day hours to get stuff up - even TV3 were being prevented from filming at many stages by Gardai

by LordFlash Fri Mar 21, 2003 16:25

Well if they were heavy-handed then why are there no photo's?
There are plenty of photo's of the event, how come none managed to capture the protesters having their arses kicked?
I guess we'll have to take your word for it....

by sigmund freud Fri Mar 21, 2003 16:16

Some of them may have been trained by the Christian Brothers ...

by brused & battered Fri Mar 21, 2003 15:23

the gardaí went in heavy from the start. they went in without any notice, as is the usual case in this kind of sit-down situation where they normally give protesters some notice that they will move you on.

they went in kicking and punching, they used a bolt cutters against one person. Paul gogarty TD of the Green Party witnessed it all, I hope that he makes a complaint against the gardai.

by BB Fri Mar 21, 2003 15:20

What the fuck was wrong with the person who fucked off in the ambulance?More likely it was due to Buckfast and cider than this "attack".

by Lord dumbass more likely Fri Mar 21, 2003 14:56

Perhaps you missed "One protester was taken unconscious in an ambulance to hospital after the Gardai attack"

by LordFlash - Citizen Fri Mar 21, 2003 14:51

Maybe my eyes are tricking me, but I don't see any "attacks",... no tear gas, no batons, no tazers and no thrown punches.

Just Garda's dragging, pulling and lifting protesters off the street.

Try reporting the truth, you will get more respect that way.
You could at a stretch say "rough handled" or even "rudely dragged", but attacked if far too dramatic a word for those pictures.

by Mary Whelan Fri Mar 21, 2003 14:28 mbewhelan at hotmail dot com 1 georgian hamlet, baldoyle, dublin13 8393093

Looking at these photos reminds us that some thing never change particularly our Gardai.
The same tactics have been used by them since the days of protesting against the offenses against the state act, to the varying protests regarding civil rights issues. How manly they are pulling the clothes from that young person.
Mary Whelan

by iosaf Fri Mar 21, 2003 14:21

(looks like a cycle helmet).

by Andrew Fri Mar 21, 2003 14:17

attacking???