Quote:
Originally Posted by Coys1882
I don't see these occupy protests the same as burning cars and looting stores because of a hockey game. To me and the pieces I've read on it the majority of the protests have been exactly that - protests. Not hooligans vandalizing. The guy who got the flashbang in the crotch deserved it because he's a mindless punk joining in on destroying people's livelihoods.
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TBH you don't know that, and the police can't assume that.
Every protest no matter how peaceful can turn in an instant into something worse.
I'm sure if the police would have played the we assume that the Vancouver (I don't even know what to call them) were peaceful, that things would have gotten even more out of hand.
The Riot Police are trained to bring an end to possible situations through the use of intimidation and pretty much overwhelming and decisive force.
We don't know if there were other episodes of violence elsewhere or confrontations between the police and the protestors elsewhere that would have changed the police demeaner.
We don't even know for sure if in those chaotic moments if those cops knew that there was an injured man down, for all we know they could have seen it as a group rush at the barracade.
I don't like the flashbang technique at all personally, that smacks of stupidity and bad training, it would have been just as effective to drop it somewhere besides in the middle of the group.
I don't know if the use of rubber bullets was actually proven or if we have protestors saying that hey man we saw it.
Like I said, the damage done to the man doesn't look like rubber bullet trauma to me, it could have been a teargas cannister that was misfired, or bounced off the street into his head or it could have been deliberately aimed.
We don't know if the police gave a warning to the group that went to the guys aid not to approach the police line or not.
There are still way to many questions.
I would hope that there will be an honest investigation and that it isn't handled by the Oakland Police because I don't know if I trust the statement of the chief of police, and even if true its tainted by what we see or think we see in the video.