Michael

If you grew up in Britain in the 70s or 80s, you'll remember the sadistic teacher who took pleasure in disciplining children with a ruler, a cane or whatever else came to hand. The sort who confused cruelty with authority and punishment with discipline. Well, here we have that very same sadist, only this time wearing a police uniform and apparently using handcuffs as a weapon against a child. I don't give a damn what that child is alleged to have done. And I couldn't care less that the far right have jumped on this footage. I'm not going to excuse apparent police brutality simply because condemning it puts me on the same side of an argument as someone whose politics I disagree with. The footage shows what it appears to show; the officer responsible should be sacked, along with any colleague who witnessed unlawful violence and deliberately stood by. A police uniform is not a licence to brutalise children. We entrust officers with extraordinary powers because they're supposed to exercise restraint, not indulge in punishment. Anyone who cannot understand that has no business wearing the uniform. Oh, and for the old toe rags like me who grew up getting the occasional clip round the ear from the local bobby... let's not pretend that's remotely comparable to being struck in the throat with steel handcuffs. There's a world of difference between a clip round the ear and a police officer using a weapon against a child. Do you think a police officer should be able to do this to a child?