Riot cops hit us with batons

Posted Friday, January 28, 2011 by thesun.co.uk

Riot cops hit us with batons
STRONG ARM OF THE LAW ... riot police form a line at the side of the pitch

FOLLOWING West Ham to Birmingham on Wednesday night was like stepping into a violent episode of Life on Mars.

The night started with the carrot of a Wembley cup final.

But it ended with the sticks of Midlands police officers bringing mayhem and bitter resentment that destroyed a special occasion.

Not since I was a 20-year-old following West Ham around a country gripped by the evil of football hooliganism in the late 70s and early 80s have I witnessed such archaic and barbaric policing of a docile crowd.

At around 6.15pm, a Birmingham policeman walked into the centre of The Crown pub where I was chatting with friends and announced we should drink up immediately as we were about to be 'escorted to the stadium for our own protection'.

I was in a group comprising a mid-50s antiques dealer and his broker son, an NHS manager, a healthcare official, a systems manager, a recruitment manager and numerous other professionals.

We were herded outside where dozens of police were ready to 'protect' us to St Andrew's two miles away.

Around a dozen police linked arms, facing the fans, and set off walking backwards away from the pub. Their colleagues, pleasantly at first, encouraged us to set off slowly after them.

But things soon turned sour. Police forced us to walk at a crawl. Any attempt to reach even normal walking pace was greeted with threats and a shove.

After stopping off at The Dragon pub to 'protect' another large gathering of West Ham fans, we set off again at a snail's pace, the group now several hundred strong.

It was soon evident that, despite being dragged out of the pub 90 minutes from kick-off, we would NOT be allowed to see that kick-off.

Fans who had quietly obeyed every instruction began raising their voices, demanding answers — and to be treated with respect.

Our protest — loud but peaceful — prompted another extraordinary reaction from police.

Officers were ordered to draw their batons. Kids at the front, too young to see the warning signs, were hit indiscriminately when they refused to stay quiet.

Fans tried to surge forward to confront their attackers-in-uniform. The police responded with violence. Tempers soon frayed again when dozens of riot police, with shields, batons and helmets, suddenly ran out of streets all around us and sprinted to the head of our group.

Without warning we were forcibly stopped. Ten minutes to kick-off, no stadium in sight, been walking for 80 minutes and now being pushed back by riot police.

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