Something is not right in the crowd control culture of the Metropolitan Police. I sometimes think we have one force for everything in the capital, when in a modern world we need more than one. We do not, for example, expect a GPs to perform heart surgery.
There were clearly disgraceful scenes when troublemakers among the students became violent. There were other shocking scenes where students, tempers inflamed, ran amok tearing flags and daubing statues, not to mention smashing into the Treasury. A policeman was dragged from his horse and injured, quite seriously. Heavy missiles were thrown.
Against this one student was beaten so hard on the head by a police truncheon that he suffered bleeding on the brain, nearly died and was saved by the skill of neurosurgeons. Another disabled protester was twice dragged from his wheelchair, the second time when detached from the body of the protest, in a fashion that most will find shocking. Many other perfectly respectable and rather erudite students have appeared on the media to report unprovoked and random beatings.
From all this it is evident that there are faults on both sides, but the sides are not equal. The police are disciplined restrained and experienced. The protesters are not. They are new to this and they are very emotional. The believe their futures are threatened. Almost all are otherwise decent young people who are the future key players in the life of our country. We must ask why it all got out of hand?
The glib reply of trouble makers and thugs is not enough. Almost every time there is a protest now there are issues about the way it was policed. The Met seems to have lost its touch. The Home Secretary has work to do. She too has to bring in some timely reforms.