Letter Writing

I'm writing to:
The Independent Police Complaints Commission
The Home Office
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
The Metropolitan Police Service
Sarah Teather, my MP

It turns out my MP is a Liberal Democrat and has a pretty kick ass voting record. I'm looking forward to her response!

I'm not really making a complaint, I figure enough people are doing that, and I only mention Ian Tomlinson in passing. Instead, I want to try to get some actual dialogue by asking questions.

Here is the letter (this is the MP version, obviously the first para was edited slightly for other recipients)
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Dear Sarah Teather,

I am wondering if you could answer a few questions for me about the way policing is handled at protests. I do not wish to make any complaint but, rather, to understand the policing of protests better. I am sending a similar letter to the Home Office, the IPCC and the Metropolitan police. I am hoping you will have some sympathy for my questions as, looking at your voting record, it appears that our political views are similar.

I have attended two protests recently; Stop the War's Gaza Protest on January 10th and the G20 related protests on 1st April. I am a photographer and, although I supported the views of the protesters in both cases, I attended these protests to document them, rather than to join them.

On the 1st of April, I arrived at the protest shortly after it converged on the Bank of England. This was around midday and I discovered that the main area had already been “kettled” in.

When I asked police officers why we were not allowed inside to legally protest/observe, I was told it was for our own protection, as it was very violent inside the kettle. However, I could see directly into the cordoned area and people were sunbathing, talking, dancing and peacefully protesting.

By around 1.30pm, the police were charging outwards from the kettle to get us to move back. During one of these charges, I was walking backwards away from the police (in the direction they were telling us to walk). Apparently I was not moving fast enough, because just as I turned to face my direction of travel, I saw a policeman draw back his baton, which he then shoved into my back as I turned around. This is obviously the same sort of treatment that Ian Tomlinson received.

Later, after police lines briefly dispersed to the west of Bank, I made my way towards the centre of the protest and enjoyed photographing the peaceful protesters and talking to different people about their views on various issues. By around 5pm, I needed to leave and discovered I had been locked inside the kettle. I understand there had been some violence from protesters at this point, but the vast majority of people in the kettle were extremely peaceful.

I spoke to a police officer who told me that we were being kept inside the kettle for our own safety, as it was violent outside the cordons. This is the exact opposite to what I had been told earlier. I was continually polite to this officer and eventually he let me out after I told him I am a professional photographer. As soon as I reached the other side of the police line, I realised the streets were completely empty and there was absolutely no violence at all.

My questions are as follows:
- Why would the police 'kettle' a protest only an hour or so after it had started?
- How is it safe or legal to detain people for hours in an area where there is no access to shops or adequate toilet facilities? I twice saw people who felt ill (one of whom appeared to be under the age of 18) asking the police for water, which was refused to them. If a kettle is deemed necessary, shouldn't there be some system for providing detainees with water and adequate toilet facilities?
- Why would police lie about it being for our own safety when, in fact, there was very little violence inside the kettle, and absolutely none outside the kettle later when I left?
- What is the need to constantly charge towards protesters to get them to move? Why is this not kept as a last resort? (I have also seen coverage of protests such as Climate Camp 2008 where extremely peaceful protesters were charged at and police made them move backwards across a field.) What is the need to make people move “back” all the time?
- How is kettling helpful when it aggravates protesters? (People inside the kettle were more annoyed about being kept captive than anything else) Doesn't it make a situation less safe and peaceful if you rile protesters up by containing them in a smaller and smaller space?
- Is it standard practice for police to use violent physical force on people (such as myself, Ian Tomlinson and countless others) without provocation? What is the benefit of this?

I ask these questions as a concerned citizen and also because I plan to attend protests in the future as a photographer and I would like to better understand the policing methods so that I can adjust my coverage accordingly and ensure my own safety from police violence. I realise there are quite a number of questions here, however this is merely indicative of the level of my bewilderment at recent policing tactics.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, I greatly appreciate it and I look forward to your answers to my questions.

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Will update when I receive replies!