News Shorts & Other Busyness

Alternative Media Reveals The Truth And Saves Protesters

Squall 9, Jan/Feb 1995, pg. 8.

Members of Smallworld and Haggerston Film Co-ops were present at a demonstration that took place outside Hackney Town Hall last July (see SQUALL 8). So, when the police made an attempt to prosecute two of the protesters for assaulting a policeman, out came the video footage to show that it had in fact been the other way round.

Protesters, Jacob Seeker and Simon Barlow, appeared before Old Street Magistrates Court at the end of January, charged with punching PC Terence Moore of Shoreditch Police Station on the head.

In their defence, the couple showed the stipendiary magistrate video-footage of the incident, shot by cameraman Gerald Coral. It clearly showed PC Moore throwing punches at Jacob Seeker.

Despite claims by PC Moore that punching Seeker three times to the body was necessary to restrain him, the magistrate ruled that PC Moore had used violence that was “not reasonable” and consequently dismissed the case.

Seeker is now considering whether to sue the Police for assault instead.