Police in Manchester have decided not to press charges against Steven Peers who was arrested for impersonating an officer. The twist is that Peers was wearing a pig mask at the time and a toy bobby’s helmet. Peers is an electrical engineer who uses his comic character ‘Officer 666’ to highlight the “violence, corruption and bad behavior.”
The video below comes off as rather silly as the real officer points out that the toy helmet said police officer on it and thus was a matter of impersonating an officer. Peers, 46, was held for eight hours on the charge, but police then dropped the case because of “insufficient evidence.” That seems like a rather indirect way of saying it was a baseless arrest. The court appears to have simply told Peers “That’ll do pig. That’ll do.”
What concerns me is that this was clearly an act of free speech and peaceful protest that was stopped by the arrest. The prosecutors presented no evidence against him. However, there is no account of a review of the arrest and the conduct of the officer. The videotape does not show abuse and the whole matter was handled peacefully. Yet, there remains the question of the judgment of the officers in carrying out the arrest of a peaceful protester on such a charge. Of course, before we point fingers at our English cousins, the D.C. City Council not long ago moved to make even wearing a mask a crime in some protests.
Source: Manchester Evening News
Pigs are determined.
Seen one pig you’ve seen ’em all …
Well said, angrymanspeaks.
This is why the case was dropped. Things did not go well at arraignment:
Was this from Monty Python?
At least he was politely arrested with all proper decorum
.
At least the real bobbies didn’t taze or shoot the guy.
The UK does have Armed Response Units like our SWAT. I am surprised they did not call them out.
The “pig” won that contest.
Oinkology.
I think something ate my comment. can someone check it out and let me know.
I’ll never recreate it and while that may be a relief to some…..
“Justice Holmes
If he had done that in the US he might have been shot or tazed. Our police are much more agressive in enforcing the “respect” they are due regardless of First Amendment or other constituional protections”
They have to be MUCH more aggressive to gain the feigned respect of the people because they are so little deserving of their actual respect.
Despite the alarming number of incidents of brutality and people being denied their rights; many documented right here on this site; I am still bombarded with criticism whenever I say that.
I am amazed that Americans are so willing to fall under “The Boot”.
We go on and on about being a free country and yet we tolerate the beating of peaceful protesters in New York, Chicago, Oakland, and all over. We tolerate the police actions of abuse all over; all the time. we write about it and we write about it but no changes are ever made because these abusive cops are all they have to prevent us taking action to ameliorate our situation.
We are told we had a right to separate from Great Britain because:
“”””We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed, –”””
“”””That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles
and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to
effect their Safety and Happiness””””
Go ahead and try that. let me know how it works out for you.
(Need I say that I never gave my consent for NYC Police to beat and Pepper and otherwise abuse the OWS protesters. How about you?
Angrymanspeaks, I retrieved your comment above at 9:39
While the police aren’t doing a review of the incident: A GMP spokesman said: “We are no longer investigating this and no further action against him will be taken.”
The incident isn’t completely without review:
“The Independent Police Complaints Commission is supervising an investigation into the arrest. ”
from their website: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales. It is independent, making its decisions entirely independently of the police, government and complainants.
They are already investigating Mr. Peers arrest at an anti-fracking demonstration. It isn’t clear from their website if they have power beyond investigation and writing a report.
In addition:
Mr Peers said he would discuss the impersonating an officer arrest with his solicitors to see what action could be taken. He added he would be dressing up as ‘Officer 666’ for an event on Market Street in Manchester today.
Recent statistic: Americans are 29 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a foreign “terrorist”.
Great parody.
If he had done that in the US he might have been shot or tazed. Our police are much more agressive in enforcing the “respect” they are due regardless of First Amendment or other constituional protections.
It appears that the ‘PIG’ reference is well placed!