Watching the police

Okay, so I know telling the cops who were stepping on a man's head that I was a concerned citizen who doesn't like cops, wasn't the best response.

Luckily I wasn't drunk, so when they started pushing me and telling them I was obstructing them, I didn't kick off. Luckily, I didn't get nicked.

I didn't know what the situation was. I still don't. Maybe the bloke wsa an arsehole. But if someone's crying out in pain and shouting for someone to stop standing on his head, you at least see if you can do something.

All I did, was to kneel and ask him whether he was okay. I was asked who I was and my reply was simply based on letting the bloke know where I was coming from. I should have said I was a solicitor, said something that might have been of help.

Instead, I got pulled up and pushed away. I asked what he'd been arrested for and was told many times I was obstructing the police.

Do you know what though? I lied. I was calm because I remembered the hash in my bag and my notebook with a "fuck the police" sticker (yeah, I know - but it's fun to pretend to be a teenager sometimes), not to mention the writing contained therein.

I know it was the right decision regardless. It would have been stupid to needlessly be confrontational without knowing anything about the situation. Had I witnessed the situation, my judgement may have been different, because I think it is important for people resist cops.

However, it led me to thinking about cop watching in small towns. Cops lie in their notebooks. We should all know this by now - it's been proved time and time again. Having a few people on the streets on a Friday and/or a Saturday night in the centre of town to monitor what they're doing and to act as sober witnesses where necessary, could start making them accountable for their actions.

More importantly, it could also start to change people's attitude towards the police. Seeing a regular presence challenging their actions can be a start of questionning attitudes to authority and our culture of obedience and passivity.

People could do it autonomously in their towns....Cop Watch Falmouth, anyone?