UK Police to shape up

[Penguin]

I once took part in an event that included having a casual race against the cops through the nightly woods. While I was running through the woods, trying not to get my butt kicked, I suddenly noticed someone running parallel to my right, about 5,6 meters away. As I turned my head: Gosh! A cop, running with the same speed as me - it was at the time when the police here still wore white helmets, so he was rather easy to spot - today they usually have a dark cover.
With my inner cam fueled by adrenaline, I saw everything in slow motion. I thought to myself: "Man, those coppers are in good shape, you really have to speed up a little!", when I looked over again: thud! - he fell over a log or something else on the ground. I continued to run, paying double attention to the surrounding.
The morale: shape & training is not everything, also watch the ground!

The not so funny aftermath, was that some imbecile, right-wing paper reported that there were wires spanned between trees, in the height of the neck, to prevent cops from running there. Which was absolute bs. First nobody wanted to get something for attempted murder, second there is nothing as neck height (is it 1.50m, 1.90m?) and third: the protesters also ran through the woods
But as hearsaying goes, someone always heard of somebody who knows somebody to whom happened this. So after the "news report" the cops were extremely edgy.

Originally Posted by jimbuna

A day or so later the 'flying pickets' arrived and you can imagine the resulting consequences....full body armour, shields and mounted support.

Are you referring by "flying pickets" to something like travelling protestors? Can't really quite get a picture of it.
Kudos for sharing your stories, I am happy that we can exchange our stories here with a smile in retrospective, looking back without hate or anger.

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

But all is well, the government are considering purchasing water cannons for any future civil disobedience (oxymoron?), good job we're not expecting a drought this year.

I my experience, water cannons always led to further escalations. Today, the police here got smarter and they keep them in the back until something actually happens.

Though I always had respect of those nasty buggers:


Nothing shouts "civil war" more loudly than having an APC coming to you at high speed. Very uncomfortable and certainly not de-escalating.