Snoopy: So.. even if it was not manslaughter, you are saying it's ok for a policeman to shove a man from behind to the ground and that is a perfectly ok thing for a policeman to do?

A yes or no answer is all I need.

(V): im like you i dont do simple yes or no answers

Snoopy: Well, shoving the guy was unnecessary no matter the outcome. So that's one point. Police here are trained to show more restraint. Certainly the officer didn't mean to bring upon the man's death. But shoving the man served no useful purpose. With that I agree.

I also see Czuch's point. I know that whenever I've been pulled over, the man in the uniform represents the authority of the state. He is called, "sir' by me. Or "officer." I show respect and talk decent to the man/woman. I know they have a hard job to do. If I am near the G20 summit, I choose a route that doesn't complicate the job of the police. They have been dealing with rioters etc. So being smart, I know to keep away from the front lines. This man apparently didn't get that message. He bears some responsibility here. It doesn't excuse away the officer's over-reaction (IMO it was an over reaction), but it does put some blame upon the man that died.

Artful Dodger: His route home took him past the Bank of England, I guess the guy thought not being a protester that he was in no danger from the police.

(V): you are saying it's ok for a policeman to shove a man from behind to the ground and that is a perfectly ok thing for a policeman to do?

A yes or no answer is all I need.

Yes

Czuch: I would say yes but depending on the circumstances. I've seen videos where officers took a man down by the neck in a choke hold. The man was just sitting on his motorcycle and had just lost control of the bike and was stopped, sitting on his bike that he was holding up, trying to keep from falling. The officer lunged at the man, grabbing him around the neck, and slammed him to the ground.

Of course the biker dude had just led the officer on a high speed chase and only stopped because he had lost control of the bike.

In this case, the officer acted properly. But if someone had just seen the video, and didn't know the full circumstances, they might say the officer over reacted. The guy was warned first to get off his bike but he sat there like a dork.

In the case Jules is talking about, it's hard to tell. The man is moving away, but he appears to be taunting the police (asking for trouble) in a very stressful situation. And he's moving sideways, and clearly very slowly (defiantly).

Maybe the officer over reacted but as I've said, the man should have promptly complied with the cop's demands. He looked to be playing them and seemed to be asking for a confrontation with the police. He got more than he barganed for.....

Artful Dodger: we seem to agree...


This cop will never be charged with anything close to murder, he will likely get a suspension, and then back to beating poor innocent people again

Czuch: I find your support for police brutality very strange.

(V): I am not an anarchist , I believe the government has its place in our lives.... protecting us is one of those places, and the police do a very hard job for very little pay, and they deserve our respect, not disdain...

You have a volatile area, the public needs to do what they can to stay out of the way of police trying to do their job...

This guy was trying to do his part to be more in the way than out of the way, he was making himself a distraction, and making it more likely that someone doing something wrong would no be dealt with properly because the police are too busy waiting for this guy to walk home from work.

It might seem like nothing to you, but lets say that 1000 people decided to act like this guy did, and basically be in the way, and a distraction to the police doing their real jobs???

Bottom line again.... this guy was an idiot who paid the ultimate price for his stupidity, he is dead, and this police officer will be suspended, and not charged with murder of any kind