After seeing the call for help on Facebook I arrived
around 5pm to find occupiers in the street confronting police near a yellow
Matrix van following the arrest of 3 of the occupiers by plainclothes officers
who didn’t identify themselves properly.
I learned that the occupiers had left the building voluntarily to talk
to the police and had subsequently been arrested on suspicion of the possession
of a controlled substance. After arrival I had noticed a couple of large men in
track suits standing to one side, watching the proceedings. They stood out a
mile as EDL and I asked several occupiers if they recognized them. They didn’t
seem to be taking photographs or filming anybody at the scene so we decided to
ignore them for now.
Police were standing guard at the entrances to the
building but were, of course, unable to gain access. Section 6 notices had been
taped to each entrance. Police were also denying access to anybody on the
street, declaring the building to be a crime scene. When quizzed about what the crime was, the
police refused to answer. More police
arrived and there was now probably 20-30 officers in attendance, including
several Matrix vans and dog units. Following a short impasse, occupiers inside
the building requested food and water, which was then brought to the site by
occupiers on the street. Formal permission to pass the food and water into the
building was requested and refused, and anybody attempting to pass food and
water into the building was threatened with immediate arrest under again unspecified
laws. Officers were dispatched to each window on the ground floor to physically
prevent food and water being passed in.
After communication with legal representation an
announcement was made that the occupiers inside the building were entitled to
food and water, and an attempt was made to pass the food and water into the
building. This was met by an immediate and unnecessarily violent response by
the police in front of the windows. The bag of food and water was ripped from
one occupier’s hands and police began to get physical with several people on
the street before being forced to retreat back to the windows by the now angry
crowd. It was at this point, as tensions threatened to boil over, that the
officer(s) in charge approached their subordinates and gave the order to stand
down. The police beat a hasty retreat back to their vehicles and began to
leave, and we were then successful in quickly getting the food and water into the building. One woman on the scene, accompanied by several occupiers, was invited to
talk to the officer in charge and was assured the police wouldn’t return. This
was taken by many with a pinch of salt. At this point we learned that the three
arrested occupiers had now been released and were on their way back, and I had
it confirmed to me that someone had recognized our track suited friends as EDL.
They left as soon as the police disappeared.
Morale seemed high and the occupiers seemed determined to
carry on in some form. I also had an in-depth discussion with somebody who had
turned up to help about squats in Liverpool and the possibility of turning
squats to a positive social use in addition to providing shelter for those in
occupation. I left at around 9pm, but not before several drive-bys from the police in cars and Matrix
vans. A possible indication of a police strategy of intimidation over the coming hours, days and
weeks. The occupiers will need to remain vigilant.
Empty buildings need People
ReplyDeleteThe 3 arrested people that were later released without charge should consider suing for wrongful arrest.
ReplyDeleteIPCC complaints are useless, suing is the only (legal) route that actually has any impact in deterring them from acting this way in future.
Contact Bindmans or another sympathetic solicitor to ask for advice on how to proceed.
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