I completely oppose the DFLA politically and morally. I find their political and ethical values repugnant.

However, assuming that this was a peaceful protest and that these protestors were not engaging in violent behaviour, then there is no excuse for this kind of violence from the police.

I know first hand that police are on a power trip, and that a lot of police are not fit to serve the public.

I was walking home late one night in the rain in Santa Barbara, California, on a road that is known for drug dealing. A police car pulled in front of me, and two officers got out and asked me to stop to speak with them. I refused their Gestapo overtures, and they jumped me when I tried to walk away. I was arrested for resisting arrest, which is obviously non-sense because there was no reason to arrest me in the first place.

I was in Coq d'Argent at Bank, London, when it appeared as if my date's phone had been stolen. I called the police, and began quickly explaining to the MPS female officer who stepped out of the elevator what had happened. I was maybe one or two sentences in when she interrupted me and said, "Are you on cocaine?" Obviously, I don't react well to that and end up getting arrested for drunk and disorderly. The officer lied to the booking sergeant and said I had white powder on my face, in order to force me to take a drugs test, which I passed.

I was in Catalunya occupying a school that was being used as a voting place for the independence vote on Oct 1. The next day, a Spanish National Police officer spat on my face as I was walking down las Ramblas with hundreds of thousands of other protesters.

There is no doubt that the police force attract people who are more sceptical to authoritarian values, violence, and prejudice. The institutions of the police systematically reinforce these negative characteristics instead of weeding them out.

The result is that you get police officers who do not respect the law, and quick to escalate situations, prefer the use of violence, and generally do not respect other people's rights.

The right to protest is sacrosanct, a direct penumbra of the natural right to self-determination and free expression. There is no excuse for using violence to suppress protest, even if the protesters are morons.