Police in Manchester assigned sniper units to rooftops on Sunday as tens of thousands of peaceful protesters marched on the Tory's annual meeting. (Photo: Social media)
Oct 05, 2015
As the national Conservative Party in the U.K. held its annual meeting in Manchester over the weekend, an anti-austerity demonstration against the ruling party's economic policies attracted not only tens of thousands of people to march peacefully... but a few police snipers to keep "watch" over those who oppose the government's gutting of the public sector.
Outrage resulted as images surfaced showing how police had dispatched sniper teams to rooftops in the city as an estimated 60,000 people, including families with young children, followed a route through the city center.
As the Manchester Evening News first reported:
Pictures have circulated on social media showing snipers on roofs in Manchester city centre during the Tory Party conference.
Police marksmen can be seen on the top of the Great Northern complex, and it is understood they are also on situated on other another city centre building.
Many wrote about the pictures on social media. Twitter user Ben Whittingham posted an aerial photograph of a man looking through the sniper on top of a roof.
He captioned it: "Just a police sniper on roof of Tory party conference, which resembles a prison."
The original tweet from Whittingham is here:
In response to the public outcry, a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson told reporters the sniper units were only being used for "observation" purposes. "[The guns]," the official said, "are used for their powerful sight, which is stronger than any pair of binoculars. They are not there to shoot people."
Despite those assurances, many on social media condemned the behavior and scoffed at the reasoning offered by police:
\u201cHold on a second. I needed a second to process what I just read.. Police are using Sniper rifles to "observe" anti austerity protests. Cray.\u201d— James Jones (@James Jones) 1444048216
\u201cSnipers at anti-austerity rally against Tories https://t.co/lX3azAHUBz Families with kids. Never imagined theses scenes in the UK #CPC15\u201d— Sonia Basson (@Sonia Basson) 1443989074
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the national Conservative Party in the U.K. held its annual meeting in Manchester over the weekend, an anti-austerity demonstration against the ruling party's economic policies attracted not only tens of thousands of people to march peacefully... but a few police snipers to keep "watch" over those who oppose the government's gutting of the public sector.
Outrage resulted as images surfaced showing how police had dispatched sniper teams to rooftops in the city as an estimated 60,000 people, including families with young children, followed a route through the city center.
As the Manchester Evening News first reported:
Pictures have circulated on social media showing snipers on roofs in Manchester city centre during the Tory Party conference.
Police marksmen can be seen on the top of the Great Northern complex, and it is understood they are also on situated on other another city centre building.
Many wrote about the pictures on social media. Twitter user Ben Whittingham posted an aerial photograph of a man looking through the sniper on top of a roof.
He captioned it: "Just a police sniper on roof of Tory party conference, which resembles a prison."
The original tweet from Whittingham is here:
In response to the public outcry, a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson told reporters the sniper units were only being used for "observation" purposes. "[The guns]," the official said, "are used for their powerful sight, which is stronger than any pair of binoculars. They are not there to shoot people."
Despite those assurances, many on social media condemned the behavior and scoffed at the reasoning offered by police:
\u201cHold on a second. I needed a second to process what I just read.. Police are using Sniper rifles to "observe" anti austerity protests. Cray.\u201d— James Jones (@James Jones) 1444048216
\u201cSnipers at anti-austerity rally against Tories https://t.co/lX3azAHUBz Families with kids. Never imagined theses scenes in the UK #CPC15\u201d— Sonia Basson (@Sonia Basson) 1443989074
As the national Conservative Party in the U.K. held its annual meeting in Manchester over the weekend, an anti-austerity demonstration against the ruling party's economic policies attracted not only tens of thousands of people to march peacefully... but a few police snipers to keep "watch" over those who oppose the government's gutting of the public sector.
Outrage resulted as images surfaced showing how police had dispatched sniper teams to rooftops in the city as an estimated 60,000 people, including families with young children, followed a route through the city center.
As the Manchester Evening News first reported:
Pictures have circulated on social media showing snipers on roofs in Manchester city centre during the Tory Party conference.
Police marksmen can be seen on the top of the Great Northern complex, and it is understood they are also on situated on other another city centre building.
Many wrote about the pictures on social media. Twitter user Ben Whittingham posted an aerial photograph of a man looking through the sniper on top of a roof.
He captioned it: "Just a police sniper on roof of Tory party conference, which resembles a prison."
The original tweet from Whittingham is here:
In response to the public outcry, a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson told reporters the sniper units were only being used for "observation" purposes. "[The guns]," the official said, "are used for their powerful sight, which is stronger than any pair of binoculars. They are not there to shoot people."
Despite those assurances, many on social media condemned the behavior and scoffed at the reasoning offered by police:
\u201cHold on a second. I needed a second to process what I just read.. Police are using Sniper rifles to "observe" anti austerity protests. Cray.\u201d— James Jones (@James Jones) 1444048216
\u201cSnipers at anti-austerity rally against Tories https://t.co/lX3azAHUBz Families with kids. Never imagined theses scenes in the UK #CPC15\u201d— Sonia Basson (@Sonia Basson) 1443989074
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.