British Police 'Bowed' to Social Media Row

Article SOURCE http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/26/charges-dropped-against-man-who-confronted-muslim-woman-croydon http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/26/charges-dropped-against-man-who-confronted-muslim-woman-croydon Man who 'confronted Muslim woman' over Brussels says police acted foolishly Matthew Doyle to ‘launch formal complaint’ against Metropolitan police after it was forced to withdraw charges against him Nicola Slawson @nicola_slawson Saturday 26 March 2016 14.56 GMT A man who was mistakenly charged by the Metropolitan police, after claiming on Twitter to have confronted a Muslim woman over the Brussels terror attacks, says he is to launch a formal complaint against the force. Matthew Doyle, from south Croydon, provoked anger on social media after he tweeted about the encounter with the woman. He said the woman gave a “mealy-mouthed” response after he demanded she “explain” the Brussels attacks. Police charged him with an offence under the Public Order Act on Thursday. But on Friday night they were forced to withdraw the accusations, admitting they had no power to charge him in the first place. Doyle said police had bowed to a social media row. “In reality, the Met added ammunition to whatever I said,” he said. “Concurrently, their press office should be cautioned about issuing largely self-congratulatory statements and then being forced to backtrack.” He added: “They smelt blood, but got egg on both their face and reputation.” Doyle had been due to appear at Camberwell Green magistrates court on Friday. But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) later confirmed it did not agree with the Met’s decision, adding that the force did not have the legal power to bring the charges. Police then released a second statement announcing that the charges against Doyle had been dropped and admitting they had had no power to charge him in the first place. It said: “Following discussion with the Crown Prosecution Service, Mr Doyle is no longer charged with the offence and will not be appearing at court. “Police may not make charging decisions on offences under Section 19 of the Public Order Act.” The CPS guidance on its website about racist and religious crime states that a charge under the act can only be prosecuted with consent of the attorney general and requires a referral to the counter-terrorism division to be dealt with by a specialist prosecutor. The offence carries a maximum jail term of seven years. Doyle’s tweet on Wednesday read: “I confronted a Muslim woman yesterday in Croydon. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said ‘Nothing to do with me’. A mealy mouthed reply.” Initially, Twitter users mocked Doyle for his tweet, posting hundreds of parody versions, however later tweets where Doyle referred to Muslims as “towel heads” were met with anger. Asked if he regretted his original tweets, he said: “I said how I felt at that moment in time. If anyone fanned the flames, it was the nameless Twitter trolls who smelt a lynching on their hands. “For the Met to bow to social media rows, it is not only foolish of them but I will be making a complaint against them and [claiming for] damages for trashing my flat, taking all my electronic stuff from my flat and forcing me to leave London.” He said his case had been “badly handled” and complained of his treatment at the police station. He said: “Denied a shave, shower, food etc, I was stripped of any dignity to appear at Camberwell court without looking like a dishevelled hobo, which I am not.” Doyle also explained the details of his interaction with the unnamed woman. He claims he had a “polite conversation” with a British Muslim after approaching her on Wednesday morning. “We had a polite conversation and moved on. I thanked her for talking to me,” Doyle said. The conversation took place in south Croydon. If I was being either threatening or racist, she was free to report me.” In its statement, the Metropolitan police said it would consult further with the CPS over the issue. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/26/charges-dropped-against-man-who-confronted-muslim-woman-croydon ---------------------- ---------------------- COMMENT Metropolitan Police London are vile, disgusting pigs arresting people without any grounds whatsoever, and misusing police powers to penalise trivial social media messaging. How dare they exceed their powers and harass and terrorise the public OVER TWITTER MESSAGES. They trashed that guy's flat, removed his belongings, and slung him in a cell.  And for what?  A string of meaningless words?  For that, I think they should be dismissed from their jobs and immediately prosecuted, as a lesson and a deterrent to others. Anything less than a prison sentence for those that abuse positions of power is insufficient. The same could be said of those that abuse some 'victim' claim or other:  maybe those that claim moral indignation while harassing others and lodging police complaints etc for 'offence' or whatever, should likewise be prosecuted for malicious complaint and wasting police time, or something like that. The culture of crying some 'victimhood' or other, of constantly whining about some delicacy or other, and the culture of collectively harassing other people, of claiming moral indignation, and harassing those who have dissenting points of view is disgusting beyond belief.  It is the result of decades-long institutional, educational and media indoctrination & the affect on police can be seen above. Owing to more of the same indoctrination, migrant crimes are hushed up in the West.