Bristol protests journalist says police ‘aggressively’ smashed camera

Exclusive: Christopher Walls says he has never witnessed police act so heavy-handedly

A journalist who was at the Bristol protests has said the police broke his camera after “aggressively” smashing the device and his arm with a baton.

Christopher Walls, who has been covering protests in the UK for the last decade, told The Independent he has never witnessed the police act so heavy-handedly with protesters or journalists in his life.

Protesters gathered in Bristol on Friday night to demonstrate against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which Labour has warned could lead to harsher penalties for damaging a statue than attacking a woman.

Riot police could be seen pushing people to the ground with their shields in videos, while a Daily Mirror journalist was the subject of an “assault” by police and at least 10 people were arrested.

Mr Walls, who lives in West London, said has been left with swelling on his wrist and is in some pain in the wake of the protest.

The 30-year-old photojournalist said the police were using horses and dogs to push protesters back - adding that he had been filming video footage at the moment the officer whacked him on a side road close to Bridewell Street.

Mr Walls added: “The officer pushed a demonstrator next to me. As I was moving back, he struck me with his baton. He hit my arm and camera and broke the flash.

“It did hurt. I was surprised I’d been hit given the circumstances - it was just me and another person on the pavement. I was annoyed when I looked down and realised my camera had been damaged.

“It certainly felt far more aggressive than anything I’ve documented before from the police side of things. It seemed like the level of force was unwarranted for what was happening. The protesters weren’t showing any hostility.

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“I have heard of a few other journalists who had been targeted as well. It seems like maybe they were targeting journalists intentionally. In other demonstrations I’ve covered, if you say you are press and it’s clear you’ve got an expensive camera, usually they’ll do their best not to interact with you in that manner. But they weren’t too fussed whether you were press or not.”

His comments come after Avon and Somerset force withdrew a claim that two officers suffered broken bones at a Kill the Bill protest held last Sunday.

Mr Walls said there was a lack of “appreciation” from the police journalists are there to “do a job” and instead they just thought cameramen and photojournalists were “there to take a few pretty pictures and were getting in their way”.

He said other protesters were much more badly hurt than himself - adding that there were “plenty of people” who had head wounds.

Police officers detain man at Bristol protests against police and sentencing bill (PA)

“People were passing out,” he added. “People were unconscious. I saw one girl who was a bit wobbly on her legs. She looked like she was going to pass out. Whether it was shock or dehydration or whether she’d been hit, I don’t know in that situation. I saw a video of a girl getting knocked out with a shield.”

Mr Walls said he would struggle to afford the few hundred pounds it would cost to get his camera fixed, but he would not be bothering to seek compensation from the police due to it being a “very long-winded process”.

“Kill the Bill” protests have erupted in response to a controversial piece of government legislation that would bolster police powers to impose conditions on non-violent protests, with offenders potentially slapped with prison sentences.

On Saturday, a young man who attended Friday’s protests and is in the final year of a Physics masters at Bristol University, told The Independent he feels “dazed” after police “whacked” him with a baton leaving him with a “large bump” on his head.

Lockdown restrictions mean large protests are presently banned in the UK - with Superintendent Mark Runacres, commander for Bristol at Avon and Somerset Police, saying the protest was held “against our advice and the advice of the authorities” and a peaceful demonstration had been “facilitated for many hours.”

He added: “We had bottles being thrown at officers, paint being thrown at officers. Our officers will deal with offences where they are being committed effectively and robustly, in line with ... approved public order training tactics.

“We want our officers to be deployed on their routine duties – while they are being drawn into policing operations such as these, they are being taken away from other frontline duties. Victims are being let down by us not being able to respond to them as quickly as we would like.”

Superintendent Runacres added: “A free press is a cornerstone of our democracy and we fully respect the media’s vital role in reporting events fairly and accurately.”

“To that end, at briefings this week officers were reminded of the likely presence of the media within the protest group.

“Following the protest march on Friday night, people were given warning to disperse as bottles, debris and other items were thrown at officers. Dispersal tactics in accordance with College of Policing guidelines were used.

“Policing public order incidents is challenging. It’s very difficult in that dynamic scenario to differentiate between someone protesting who is ignoring officers’ commands and being deliberately obstructive, and someone being there to report events. This is especially so when no clear visual or verbal identification is offered to help officers establish if they are a member of the press.

“We are an organisation that wholeheartedly believes in transparency and want to work with the media constructively to ensure journalists are able to go about their professional business.”