Police rapped for 'disjointed' manhandling of Graffitti activists
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The Independent Police Complaints Board has criticised the police Rapid Intervention Unit for the way it evicted Graffiti activists noisily protesting at the Planning Authority last September. While finding some cases of excessive force, it said no officer coPolice rapped for 'disjointed' manhandling of Graffitti activists
The Independent Police Complaints Board has criticised the police Rapid Intervention Unit for the way it evicted Graffiti activists noisily protesting at the Planning Authority last September. While finding some cases of excessive force, it said no officer could be condemned since no one committing any «suspicious activity» had been identified. “It appears to the board, on the basis of the evidence presented to it, that the eviction operation was carried out in a disjointed manner. It could have been better organised so that the few episodes of excessive force could have been avoided,” the board, chaired by retired Judge Franco Depasquale, concluded in an 18-page report. The activists showed up at a PA board meeting to protest against controversial plans for another new fuel station on Outside Development Zone land. Two of the activists were bleeding as they were forcibly removed from the building by Rapid Intervention Unit officers, witnesses confirmed. Footage showed them being manhandled, sparking anger among the protesters who insisted they were doing nothing illegal. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had described the police operation as heavy-handed. Report tabled in... Read more