WTF's going on in Brixton now: *15+* police cars have just gone by

[detective-boy]

15 + cars is about right Minnie. A mini riot type event cnr of coldharbour lane and atlantic rd.

A convoy of 15+ would not normally be connected with something like that - vehicles respondiong to some spontaneous disorder are likely to come in dribs and drabs from all directions (i.e. they don't all start from the same place). It MAY be if it is a little bit pre-planned (i.e. the local supervisors have got all the spontaneous assistance to come to an RVP first and then moved in in numbers) but if it is much pre-planned it will be the personnel carriers rather than cars as the TSG will be involved).

What you describe is more likely to be (a) a pursuit which has been going for some time (only four or five cars are supposed to be engaged directly but ...) or (b) a security convoy of some sort (which may be more likely to involve unmarked vehicles, but would not normally be that big (they normally restrict them to about six or eight as above that they get ungainly)).

 

[editor]

I found out what actually happened. Some kid was riding around on one of those fucking annoying scooters. He managed to hit a car and come off.

Seeing as the the bike was (presumably) nicked the scrote decided to leg it and in the course of the pursuit he got hit by a police car, dramatically rolling over the bonnet.

Bystanders not aware of what went on before, jumped to the conclusion that The Man was oppressing a poor innocent little black kid and so an angry mob formed when the police went to make the arrest.

Lots of pushing, shoving and a few fists thrown in the coppers direction followed (hence the 15+ car convoy) while the guy with the damaged car was left scratching his head.

As square jawed 80s mullet boy Glenn Frey described it so well, "The Heat Is On" round SW9 at the mo'.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

while the guy with the damaged car was left scratching his head.

hope he's ok. Surprised he didn't get a beating for knocking the poor innocent lad off his newly acquired scooter

 

[zuszsa]

I did wonder about the nail bar bit of the story! Those Prince Albert regulars are such scamps - leading a gulliable girl astray with their tall tales

 

[ovaltina]

There's just been a frenzied procession of high speed police cars - some marked, others with just a 'Starsky' style light stuck on an unmarked car - all hurtling up Coldharbour Lane towards the town centre.

Anyone see anything?

Could well have been connected to a massive raid at Fire nightlclub in Vauxhall at 2am Saturday. I was there and there were maybe 200 police. Very nasty start to the weekend.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-4249.html

 

[editor]

Could well have been connected to a massive raid at Fire nightlclub in Vauxhall at 2am Saturday. I was there and there were maybe 200 police. Very nasty start to the weekend.

Err... look at the time of my first post!

 

[Orang Utan]

Could well have been connected to a massive raid at Fire nightlclub in Vauxhall at 2am Saturday. I was there and there were maybe 200 police. Very nasty start to the weekend.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-4249.html

WTF? That's well out of order!

 

[ovaltina]

Err... look at the time of my first post!

Oops! Suppose not then...

 

[ovaltina]

WTF? That's well out of order!

Yup - am going to have a bit of a chat with the LGBT Liason officer tomorrow - was fuming at the time. (no pun intended!)

 

[detective-boy]

Bystanders not aware of what went on before, jumped to the conclusion that The Man was oppressing a poor innocent little black kid and so an angry mob formed when the police went to make the arrest.

No change there then ...

Wouldn't be the first time one of your popular local crack dealers has been "rescued" by the "community" either.

 

[detective-boy]

Yup - am going to have a bit of a chat with the LGBT Liason officer tomorrow - was fuming at the time. (no pun intended!)

Why? Are the gay community exempt from normal policing activity then?

(As for the apparent concern over the photographs being taken, that is a pretty standard thing in operations where there are large numbers of people to be processed. There are a number of powers the police could have been using. (That would be a relevant point to bring up with the LGBT liaision officer, as it happens). That said, use of the tactic in such a way, without any detailed explanation, at a gay venue, seems not to have been thought through particularly well (due to issue about people not being out raised in the earlier link) although I doubt very much whether any of the pictures will ever be used publicly for anything unless some major crime has been uncovered after the people left and they are used to trace people as potential witnesses.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

No change there then ...

Wouldn't be the first time one of your popular local crack dealers has been "rescued" by the "community" either.

In my entire life this the first time I've ever heard of a crack dealer being described as popular. Quite and eye opener that!

 

[detective-boy]

In my entire life this the first time I've ever heard of a crack dealer being described as popular. Quite and eye opener that!

You not heard of irony, either?

 

[zenie]

No change there then ...

Wouldn't be the first time one of your popular local crack dealers has been "rescued" by the "community" either.

How do you know he was a crack dealer?

 

[detective-boy]

How do you know he was a crack dealer?

I wasn't talking about this one.

 

[ovaltina]

Why? Are the gay community exempt from normal policing activity then?

(As for the apparent concern over the photographs being taken, that is a pretty standard thing in operations where there are large numbers of people to be processed. There are a number of powers the police could have been using. (That would be a relevant point to bring up with the LGBT liaision officer, as it happens). That said, use of the tactic in such a way, without any detailed explanation, at a gay venue, seems not to have been thought through particularly well (due to issue about people not being out raised in the earlier link) although I doubt very much whether any of the pictures will ever be used publicly for anything unless some major crime has been uncovered after the people left and they are used to trace people as potential witnesses.

Um, right.

I disagree.

 

[nosos]

Why? Are the gay community exempt from normal policing activity then?

(As for the apparent concern over the photographs being taken, that is a pretty standard thing in operations where there are large numbers of people to be processed. There are a number of powers the police could have been using. (That would be a relevant point to bring up with the LGBT liaision officer, as it happens). That said, use of the tactic in such a way, without any detailed explanation, at a gay venue, seems not to have been thought through particularly well (due to issue about people not being out raised in the earlier link) although I doubt very much whether any of the pictures will ever be used publicly for anything unless some major crime has been uncovered after the people left and they are used to trace people as potential witnesses.

I disagree.

I applaud your reasoned argument.

 

[LDR]

We were on Coldharbour Lane when all the police were there. We saw the scooter lying on the crowd in bits on the pavement. We had to step over it.

There were tons of cops. The most I've even since in Brixton. There were also more people than I've even seen in one place in Brixton too. It felt a bit like Notting Hill Carnival.

We didn't see any trouble and about 10 to 20 minutes later everything was back to normal.

 

[Bazza]

The scooter crashed on the corner of Rushcroft and the guy ran off down Atlantic (towards the market). Originally a few police cars stopped there but then it all seemed to kick off down Atlantic Road and within ten minutes there were over 15 police cars/vans there - I counted 17.

What I found alarming about the episode was the excitement it caused amongst people (not all, but a lot). They were really loving it and the police were getting a hard time...You could see the officers wanted to get the hell away ASAP and I sensed people were goading them.

A kid started sticking his fingers up at a policevan, which abruptly stopped and the driver gave chase on foot...I think the policeman saw sense though because he stopped. In a situation like that they can't put a foot wrong.

People were walking up and down the street shouting "Brixton Hot! Brixton Hot" and I genuinely think that if that was a more major incident that got out of control, it could have got nasty.

Even I have to admit, it was more interesting than the BBC's quest to find the next Joseph.

 

[gaijingirl]

Even I have to admit, it was more interesting than the BBC's quest to find the next Joseph.

 

[editor]

What I found alarming about the episode was the excitement it caused amongst people (not all, but a lot). They were really loving it and the police were getting a hard time...You could see the officers wanted to get the hell away ASAP and I sensed people were goading them.

I think that goes hand in hand with the recent feeling of lawlessness in some areas around here.
Kids can screech around in stolen cars for over an hour without being troubled by the police, the shops next to me regularly get attacked with no police showing up and the kids feel at liberty to lob bottles and smash stuff up whenever the fancy takes them.

With all that going on, it's not surprising that they reckon the cops are a good target for some goading.

I've got a feeling we're going to be in for a loooong hot summer around here.

*prays for rain.

 

[Bazza]

Yep, great point about the weather (we're still in Spring!).

As much as I like Brixton, I'm moving the fuck off CHL as soon as possible.

 

[poster342002]

What I found alarming about the episode was the excitement it caused amongst people (not all, but a lot). They were really loving it and the police were getting a hard time...You could see the officers wanted to get the hell away ASAP and I sensed people were goading them.

People were walking up and down the street shouting "Brixton Hot! Brixton Hot"

What a load of arseholes. And it's another incident that brings me another step close to moving out of Brixton for good (the endemic crap behaviour has already cost me a relationship, for starters) after having lived here almost continuously since the late 70s.

And no, before anyone starts up, these arsewipes are NOT protesting about police harrasment or anything like that - it's all about swaggering bullies asserting their "right" to fuck up the neighbourhood.

 

[Bazza]

And no, before anyone starts up, these arsewipes are NOT protesting about police harrasment or anything liek that - it's all about swaggering bullies asserting their "right" to fuck up the neighbourhood.

I agree. If the police acted out of line, then they'd protest about the harrassment that they tried to provoke in the first place.

 

[poster342002]

I agree. If the police acted out of line, then they'd protest about the harrassment that they tried to provoke in the first place.

If these little tossers decide to "riot" to defend their "right" to piss the area up the wall, I think they're going to be in for a very big shock when they discover they've got NO support or sympathy from the general Brixton populace at large.

The current situation in Brixton is entirely different scenario to the early 80s. I get a sense that everyone's just about had it up to here with all this antisocial shit behaviour, now.

 

[Mr Retro]

Effra road was closed for most of Saturday too with loads of police cars and, fire brigade and a helicopter.

A police car hammering down Effra Road ploughed into a car pulling on to it. The state the 2 cars were in, it looked like nobody would get out alive but I hear the worst that happened was a broken leg.

 

[cirrus]

I think that goes hand in hand with the recent feeling of lawlessness in some areas around here.
Kids can screech around in stolen cars for over an hour without being troubled by the police, the shops next to me regularly get attacked with no police showing up and the kids feel at liberty to lob bottles and smash stuff up whenever the fancy takes them.

So glad I don't live there anymore.

 

[editor]

So glad I don't live there anymore.

I still don't think there's anywhere else I'd want to live.

 

[poster342002]

I still don't think there's anywhere else I'd want to live.

I'm hearing more and more people who used to say that (myself included up to one point) now saying they've just had enough. The situation is getting beyond a joke, now, and a lot of people are just calling it a day and moving.

There's been no end of promises of "jam tomorrow" to solve the problems, yet nothing changes.

 

[Mr Retro]

It's funny because I'm on the other side of the hight street to you guys and gentrification continues a-pace with thankfully none of the problems you encounter.

I suppose I could walk from my house to the barrier block in about 7 mins!