Our thanks to Stephen for a piece in yesterday’s Times (£), Police officer left with broken nose after Manchester Airport brawl tells court she was ‘absolutely terrified’. The piece includes a video (1:34). The officer was PC Lydia Ward, who described herself to the court as “petite and eight stone” and “absolutely terrified”, clearly incapable of doing what was required in a violent situation, either physically or temperamentally. Doubtless she was being paid the same as her male colleagues who inevitably had to sort out the situation.
Sky News has this, with videos. An extract:
“Defence lawyer Rosemary Fernandes suggested 20-year-old Amaaz had been “taken by surprise” and believed he was being attacked when police approached him.
She argued he punched PC Ward in “lawful self-defence on the basis that you were an assailant”.
“It is important you identify yourselves as police officers, isn’t it?” she asked.
“I don’t think we had any time to do that,” replied PC Ward. “We didn’t have any time for rational discussion with this male as it turned violently quickly.”
She [J4MB: PC Lydia Ward] said it would have been obvious to the defendant that she was a female police officer.” [J4MB emphasis. In plain English, she had assumed that being a woman, she wouldn’t be the victim of violence.]
As in other professions and life generally, women want the upsides of everything (in this case, a good salary, the opportunity to boss people about and maybe Taser them, and more) and the downsides of nothing (in this case, being the potential victims of violence, something always accepted by policemen).
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