AN UPDATE REGARDING POLICE SCOTLAND AND THE GREEN BRIGADE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
I reported on the ACSOM Blog a couple of days ago about allegations of excessive use of force and, in all honest, flagrant abuses of power by Police Scotland in a targeted attack on a Celtic fan in a Thursday morning dawn raid.
Most of you saw it for what it was, an attempt to draw attention to a very real issue, affecting a small number of Celtic fans now, but which, if unopposed, could affect all of us tomorrow.
Well, two things have happened since that initial report. Celtic’s board, with Ross Desmond, AKA Nepotism Personified leading the charge (with Daddy's approval of course), showed Celtic fans exactly what they think of them and their protests.
Then, courtesy of the always excellent Homebhoys Podcast, we had a direct update on the story I broke on Thursday. A source close to the victim of Police Scotland’s brutality spoke directly to the guys on the show about what happened.
It makes for compelling, but also deeply disturbing listening.
Make No Mistake, Police Scotland and the Green Brigade are at War, with The Celtic Board Complicit in it All
A member of the Green Brigade, and close friend of the victim of Thursday morning’s “dawn raid” spoke in depth about what happened. As I alluded to in my original report, he outlined the needless kicking in of his front door, with no attempt to knock or summon anyone from within the premises ahead of time.
This is a clear violation of protocol when dealing with alleged offenders who do not pose a clear and present danger to the public.
However such confrontations between Police Scotland and the Green brigade have become alarmingly common in recent times. Allegations of collusion between the Celtic Board and Police Scotland in this regard continue to mount. Certainly, the timing of Thursday's attack could best be described as "convenient", if I'm being generous.
There is then the further issue of the victim’s father and his chronic medical affliction COPD. Anyone who has this condition, or cares for someone suffering from it, knows that it requires constant monitoring and care.
So, for Police Scotland to arbitrarily detain this man’s carer and confiscate his only means of communication without any justification is, and I am not exaggerating here, a literal violation of the individual’s fundamental human rights.
It’s not only disgusting; it’s potentially life-threatening.
The member of the Green Brigade who spoke on the Homebhoys show with amazing clarity and calmness considering the gravity of the situation elaborated further. He added:
“When I went up into his house, his dad’s sitting there, freezing, in his living room, behind a wee electric fire, and he’s still pretty shaken up after what’s happened. And I’ve then used my phone to phone the boy’s mother, and I’ve spoke to her, and she’s in bits. Obviously very emotional.
“She’s worried about her son, who’s been arrested. She’s worried about her husband, who’s sitting there. He’s not well, he’s freezing, and the front door’s obviously missing from the house.
Again, some may say I am overreacting, but remember all this chaos was preempted by Police Scotland seeking to arrest one individual on one individual charge of Breach of the Peace. In the Green Brigade members’ own words: “It probably won’t even make court. If it does, it’ll get thrown out anyway. And yet, his family and him have been put through this.”
Historically that is exactly what’s happened in almost every other instance where a Green Brigade member has been arbitrarily detained by Police Scotland.
These bully boy tactics aren’t just a massive abuse of power; they are also a massive waste of public money. It’s proven that they do no secure convictions most of the time.
The only possible motivation can be intimidation.
Say what you will about The Green Brigade. Love them or loathe them, I think we can all agree the one thing they will never do is bow down to police intimidation.
