More Britain

You are in > Britain

Britain

by Noah Tucker / March 10th 2007

An unreasonable force

One of the worst aspects of binge drinking, a phenomenon which is causing great worry amongst those who are concerned about the health and safety of the younger generation in Britain, is that when intoxicated a person can be vulnerable to violent or sexual assault. And alcohol impairs memory, reducing the chances for identifying and convicting a predatory person who attacks a drunken man or woman.

Such dangers are illustrated by a five minute video clip which was released to the press on 7^th March by Monitoring Group North, a human rights organisation.

The film, from a CCTV camera positioned over a car park, in Sheffield, Northern England, shows a young woman on her own at night, running to the top of a flight of steps. She is grabbed by some men whose attentions she clearly does not welcome. While trying to resist them , it appears that she is pushed down the steps; one of the men dives on top of her and attempts to subdue her.  She is then beneath a scrum of  men who crouch over her, holding her down and hitting her. One of the men raises his fist and strikes the woman five times with great force.

As the group rises, we see that her trousers are now around her ankles. Another man approaches with a large dog, which circles menacingly while the men drag the woman towards a waiting van.

The victim of the attack had been bingeing on brandy, and the next day she could not remember the incident, which took place on 30th July last year.

Toni Comer

Millions in Britain and around the world have now seen this video, and for some of them the actions of the men involved in this incident are excused by the fact that they are police officers. And further, that Toni Comer, the victim of the attack, was asking for it. Ms Comer admits that before being beaten by the South Yorkshire Police Force, she had been ejected from a night club for unruly behaviour, and in revenge had scratched three cars belonging to staff at the club.

There can be no doubt that patrolling the drunken streets of Britain's cities is a frustrating experience for police officers. And, having the physical power to do it, the temptation to inflict some instant retribution on badly-behaved youngsters must become overwhelming at times.

The video clip can be seen here, and a BBC commentary on it can be seen here.

It is notable that the former police officer who was produced by the BBC to explain that what we saw was part of standard police procedure, did not say why such blows had to be struck when several officers, all much bigger than Ms Comer, were taking part in ‘restraining’ her. Nor did he address the issue of what purpose the dog was serving in the incident.

The Daily Express newspaper added another possible defence in its report on 9^th March, by seeking to raise doubts about whether Ms Cromer was actually punched.  The first paragraph of the Daily Express report includes the phrase:

“…CCTV footage of a woman allegedly being punched by a policeman.”

And the report goes on to describe a part of the video:

“As the first officer – PC Mulhall – attempted to put handcuffs on her, he appears to hit her five times with his fist. It is not known where the alleged blows struck.” (my emphases)

The footage very clearly shows the blows being struck. However, pending more detailed analysis of the video clip, it is not at all clear that PC Mulhall was punching her as part of an attempt to put Ms Cromer into handcuffs. At this stage, this is merely an allegation, as are PC Mulhall’s other assertions that Toni Cromer spat at him, kicked him, attempted to bite him and tried to grab his genitals.

While reporting these claims by PC Mulhall, the Daily Express article strangely omitted to include the officer’s admission that he hit her, in his own words, “as hard as I am physically able”.

The main thrust of the Daily Express report was an ad hominem attack on Mr Herald Devon Johnson, the activist for Monitoring Group North who released the video clip to the media. Mr Johnson, according to the article, is a “rabble-rouser” who:

“…allegedly advised Ms Comer that she could win a big compensation payout if she made an allegation of police brutality. He told her he believed the arrest was racist.”

The source of this allegation was not revealed, but it is one which is sure to further reduce public sympathy for Toni Comer. We already know that she got very drunk and damaged some cars; and now the Daily Express claims that it is alleged that she has been persuaded to become a participant in the despised ‘compensation culture’ which afflicts modern society.

The article also reported that Ms Cromer has a criminal conviction for handling stolen goods, while omitting to mention that the offence took place six years ago, when she was aged 14.

As for Mr Johnson, the Daily Express revealed that he has recently been convicted of the offence of ‘racially aggravated threatening words or behaviour’ after a verbal exchange with two traffic wardens who were trying to issue a ticket for his illegally parked car.

According to another right-wing news source, the Daily Mail / Evening Standard newspaper group, the racial aspect of the offence derived from the following evidence:

“Telling them to go away and ‘book your white aunties and uncles’, Johnson said: ‘This is our patch, not yours. You'll not stick a ticket on my car.’ ”

Apparently, it is for this that he was fined £200. Herald Devon Johnson is appealing his conviction.

Armed and respectable: PC Mulhall on weapons duty

The Daily Mail / Evening Standard report also included the fact that Toni Comer is a single mother. PC Mulhall on the other hand, is a married man who lives in a nice village and is admired by his neighbours:

“Mr Mulhall lives with his police officer wife Letitia, 44, in the village of Braithwell, South Yorkshire. A popular figure in the small community, he received the full backing of his neighbours yesterday.

“Beauty therapist Amy Bell, 25, who owns a salon near his £200,000 cottage, said: ‘Anthony is a lovely, helpful and polite man who always says hello when I see him.’ Another resident Jim Cannon, 63, said: ‘The whole village is behind him, he does a great job.’ ”

PC Mulhall also has the backing of his employer, the South Yorkshire Police Force. He has not been suspended, but has been taken off active duties ‘for his own protection’.

Perish the thought that a young, drunk, badly-behaved single mother from the inner-city might also deserve our protection.