liberty central's civil liberties villain of the week: Brian Coleman
Conservative London assembly member Brian Coleman this week blamed a woman struck by a policeman at a G20 vigil for the alleged assault.
Footage and photographs of the attack appear to show a police sergeant from the Territorial Support Group slapping Nicky Fisher across the face and striking her on the legs with a baton. The officer had concealed his badge number in breach of police rules, which state they should be "identifiable at all times".
Coleman, Conservative assembly member for Barnet and Camden, said: "Nicky Fisher turned up to this protest, which everyone said could be violent. She put herself in this situation – and lo, she was hit. It's like going gambling and then complaining that you've lost money. All right-thinking people will have little sympathy for her. The police were dealing with a very serious situation caused by some very silly people."
Are those attending protests fair game for police assaults? We beg to differ, as does the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating the incident, and the Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, who has ordered a review of public order policing at the protests.