8/13/2019 Water Canon: Myths & Facts
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DEFEND THE RIGHT TO PROTESTWATER CANNON: MYTHS & FACTS
MYTH: Water cannon are safe, humane and do not cause injury
FACT: Water cannon do not just get you wet. They exert enormous
pressure,
known to cause serious injury including bruising and broken
bones. ThePolices own briefing documentation admits they are
capable of causing seriousinjury and even death. An elderly German
protester named Dietrich Wagnerwas blinded in both eyes after
taking a water cannon blast directly to the facein 2011.
MYTH: Water cannon would only be used in situations of serious
violence FACT: Police have identified 3 situations in which they
would have consideredusing water cannon the demonstration against
the Israeli occupation of Gaza(2009), Countryside Alliance protests
(2002), and the student protests againsttuition fees (2010) clearly
political protests which were all lawful and largely
peaceful.
MYTH: Water cannon would have been useful to Police in the
summer2011 riots and in any similar future situations FACT: At the
time ACPO President Sir Hugh Orde vocally rejected their
use,explaining that water cannon are useful against large,
stationary crowds - notthe small, fast-moving groups involved in
the riots. Tony Lloyd, PCC forGreater Manchester declared they
would have been completely ineffective inSalford and Manchester.
The Home Affairs Select Committee 2011 report intothe riots found
that water cannon would have been inappropriate as well asdangerous
during the riots, and that use could have escalated and inflamedthe
situation further.
MYTH: Police and politicians all agree that water cannon are a
good idea FACT: 5 of the 6 largest Police forces in the country are
opposed to the idea.PCCs have dismissed them as of limited value,
un-British, and as much useas a chocolate teapot. Many political
and public figures have voiced concernand opposition to water
cannon coming to London. GLA Member Jenny Joneshas stated her
opposition quite plainly: I think water cannon are a terribleidea;
I think it would be deeply damaging to the principle of policing
byconsent if the Mayor of London was to allow this military weapon
onto our
streets. Kit Malthouse has said the truth is water cannon does
not stop ariot. Theresa May vocally dismissed their use after the
student protests and in2010 Boris Johnson said this is a free city
which has a great tradition of freespeech. We do not want to see
any kind of arms race with protestors.At themoment there are no
plans to go for water cannon.
MYTH: We can trust the Police to use new weapons responsibly
FACT: Once water cannon use is authorised there will be a gradual
wateringdown of the criteria for their use, as police seek to curb
dissent in the face ofthe unpopular policies of an unpopular
Government. This mission creep isevident when it comes to police
weapons and tactics - we were promised
that kettling, stop-and-search and Taser would be used with
discretion,however they have all become routine. Kettling and
stop-and-searches inparticular have been used for reasons beyond
their original purpose and have
