Chelsea Fan Charged

[BLUENUT]

Remember this being posted when it happened:

http://timesonline.typepad.com/fanzine_fan...uld-be-you.html

The game may have changed, the supporters may have changed, but the old bill still treat us all like sh*te! Somethings never change.

[BlueBeard]

Can't say I'm too surprised by this story. In my experience of going to football in the 70's & 80's, the police were to blame for a hell of a lot of the hooliganism that took place both inside and outside the ground.

Many's the time that I've been crushed by police horses, hit across the head by truncheons, and once was carried between two mounted coppers by my hair. On that occasion I was struggling to get free, as you can imagine, when one of their brave colleagues dismounted from his police bike took his crash helmet off and smashed me across the back of the head with it. My parents had brought me up to respect the police, and I always did - somehow that respect dwindled away after a while.

I'm not really complaining about what happened to me, I wasn't exactly an angel in those days - but I've seen women and children crushed and trampled by charging mounted police, I've seen police dogs set on crowds of innocent people indiscriminately, and I've seen coppers wading into mixed crowds with truncheons hitting out blindly at anyone who got in their way. And believe me, these weren't isolated incidents, many people who went in those days will probably have similar stories.

I realise that back then the police had a difficult job, when they sometimes had to deal with literally thousands of young hooligans intent on kicking the crap out of each other. But some of the incidents I've mentioned happened when there was no trouble going on at all, there was no excuse for their behaviour.

I thought things might have improved, but having read that account I can see that the old bill are still getting up to their old tricks. After all, when you get taken to court, who is the magistrate gonna believe, a football fan or a copper? Shame there isn't more video evidence that can be used against them - strange how CCTV cameras rarely show the old bill breaking the law ain't it.

I really hope that fella takes the bar stewards to the cleaners, yet again the 'British Bobby' is shown to be a bullying coward.

Edited October 16, 2008 by BlueBeard

[Dubzz 6]

Link doesn't work for me :S

[mad_mac]

nor for me mate, but I'd be interested as to what this is about?!

[BlueBeard]

I can't find any internet reports of this today - they've mysteriously vanished. Can't believe there's anything underhand at work, reports of police brutality suddenly disappearing, no, there must be a good explanation :D

I'll try and recall the story as accurately as I can. Please bear in mind that I'm only going on reports that I read, both at the time of the incident and yesterday on the internet - this is not a factual statement.

Chelsea fan Cliff Auger took his sons to the Chelsea v QPR FA Cup game. After the match the police deliberately released their dogs, one of which, a German Shepherd, attacked Mr.Auger's son. Mr.Auger kicked the dog in order to get it to stop biting his son - the police promptly jumped on Mr.Auger, and basically gave him a good hiding - one of the coppers openly admitted punching him repeatedly. Mr.Auger ended up with 4 or 5 (depending on which report you read) broken ribs and a punctured lung - just for trying to protect his son. He consequently spent four days in hospital and had to take 6 weeks off work.

Mr.Auger was charged and found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal!

I totally abhor mistreatment of animals, but if a police dog was attacking a member of my family for no good reason then even I would have done the same as Mr.Auger. At the same time, I can understand a police dog handler wanting to protect his dog, it's only natural - but for his colleagues to join in and cause the kind of injuries that were inflicted on Mr.Auger was way out of order.

[Tim W]

I totally abhor mistreatment of animals, but if a police dog was attacking a member of my family for no good reason then even I would have done the same as Mr.Auger.

Slight understatment I fear

[BlueBeard]

Slight understatment I fear

:D

Yeah, OK, I'll be honest, I'd probably have bitten the dog handler and shoved his German Shepherd up his arse - on a good day!

[BLUENUT]

nor for me mate, but I'd be interested as to what this is about?!

Here you go:

(Hope admin don't mind me copying this from another site)

Article supplied by cfcuk.net

Following his arrest after Chelsea’s FA Cup tie against QPR last season, the case against Cliff Auger for 'threatening behaviour' was thrown out by magistrates but, in what we here at cfcuk.net consider a totally farcical verdict, he was, nevertheless, found guilty and fined £500 for ‘causing unnecessary suffering to a police dog'.

The incident occurred when Cliff, his two sons and two of their friends were walking away from Stamford Bridge after the match. They had walked up the North End Rd when, opposite The Goose pub, the Tactical Support Group of the Metropolitan Police arrived and, for reasons still unknown, decided to set their dogs of Cliff’s 16-year-old son James.

One of the animals – an Alsatian – sunk its teeth into the back of the youngster’s calf causing his father to kick the dog in an attempt to make the dog release its jaws from his leg.

Upon seeing Cliff kick the dog, officers in the TSG set about Cliff and, after they had pinned him to the ground and assaulted him, he was arrested and taken to Shepherds Bush Police Station.

Whilst in the cells, Cliff complained about not feeling well and a doctor was called and, after a brief examination, he recommended that he should go straight to hospital.

Once there, he was taken for x-rays and it was discovered that he had sustained four broken ribs and a punctured lung as a result of the TSG officers attempting to arrest him. *He spent 4 days in hospital and missed 6 weeks from work*

He was charged with the offences mentioned above and today, after a two day trial, the charge of threatening behaviour was dismissed but the magistrate decided that he was guilty of the offence against the dog and imposed the fine.

In our opinion, it is farcical because, as the case against Cliff was thrown out for threatening behaviour, what justification had the police got for allowing their dog to attack and bite his son?

That said, there is still an ongoing investigation into the incident being carried out by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the case for an appeal is being considered.

We here at cfcuk.net are asking Chelsea supporters to back Cliff and his family by contributing to a fund to not only help Cliff pay his fine but also fund the costs of any forthcoming appeal against conviction.

The cfcuk fanzine sellers will be collecting from those who wish to donate on the Chelsea special train to Middlesbrough on Saturday and there will be a collection tin located at the cfcuk stall on the Fulham Rd prior to the home matches against Roman and Liverpool.

*added by me from memory from original Times article*

[mad_mac]

Christ I remember this. They seriously charged this bloke? So, what was he meant to do? Let the dog rip his kid to bits, and then file an official compaint? Like BB, I don't advocate cruelty to animals, but you've got to hold the police responsible for just setting the dogs on anyone!

[Dubzz 6]

He's probably got a good case to take to court, mind you you hear about this sort of thing all the time..

Edited October 18, 2008 by Dubzz 6