Incident in Water St Liverpool

woodenspoon

Yes I thought the same some of those men were very aggressive. Maybe that’s why it’s taking the police longer to announce charges etc. I’d have been very afraid if it were me.

I think it’s going to be a very complicated case when it goes to court as the defendants lawyers will say that he was in fear of his life and panicked.

Yes Maybee70 and that could well be true.

Years ago we went to a nearby village to visit a friend and people were piling out of the pub after watching a football match ( I think England had been playing). The crowd was quite jubilant and we had to drive slowly through them. Even though it was all very friendly and jovial it still sticks in my mind as it was very intimidating and we were worried about hurting someone. My partner was a rep and he used to say that the place that scared him more than anywhere else was Liverpool. For some reason ( can’t remember how it came about) we were invited to a match at Anfield and he was very concerned about where to park his car etc. I must point out that this was a long time ago, though, nearly twenty years.

Posters on social media accused the police of lying and covering up the real identity

Even here on GN

As well as the the police, fire, and ambulance people courageously doing everything possible to assist injured people were St John Ambulance volunteers. They do this as private citizens who simply want to support. others in distress. Perhaps their example will inspire others to join and be among those moving towards incidents because they are trained and willing to help.

growstuff

Dickens Even though the police announced that the suspect was a white male from Liverpool, it didn't stop the conspiracy theorists. Posters on social media accused the police of lying and covering up the real identity. There were even some fake pictures posted, showing men with dark skin. Even though it was pointed out that the pictures were fakes, they acted as a catalyst for anti-immigrant rants. It seems everybody has his/her own theory from watching a few video clips. I find it quite disturbing that so many people are turning into vigilantes.

It doesn't surprise me at all that there are those who will insist that there is a cover-up, that the police are lying - that the suspect is an immigrant or a recently-arrived asylum seeker.

They've got the bit between their teeth and are not going to let it go. They are on a crusade; they believe there's a big conspiracy by the government / the police to fool the public - that only foreigners are capable of such atrocities.

And they are dangerous because they fuel hatred, unrest and civil disorder.

At the same time, we have an underfunded mental health service, an underfunded and understaffed police force.

There's also the situation where terrorists have committed an act of terrorism and who, it is later established, were "known to the police". Or individuals with severe mental health problems who were allowed to fall between the cracks in the system, when they should have been closely monitored, and who then go on to commit some dreadful act like this.

... none of this helps.

Unfortunately, dealing with both these issues is not going to be easy - however calm or measured a government's response is in the future to the growing resentment against asylum seekers and immigrants. The baying crowd wants vengeance, and there are politicians willing to exploit their fears.

I don't know what the answer is, but Starmer's LP will have to deal with the problem, because I fear serious civil unrest otherwise with roaming vigilantes (as you mention) who are not interested in facts.

Dickens I really find the whole "environment" (for want of a better word) quite scary. As an undergraduate, I studied some original diaries and newspaper articles from 1930s Germany and similar themes repeat themselves. The environment becomes normalised and more people get dragged into it. It doesn't take much for a few people to exploit it.

MayBee70

woodenspoon

Yes I thought the same some of those men were very aggressive. Maybe that’s why it’s taking the police longer to announce charges etc. I’d have been very afraid if it were me.

I think it’s going to be a very complicated case when it goes to court as the defendants lawyers will say that he was in fear of his life and panicked.

You could be right there is footage of his car being attacked before he started to drive into people.

growstuff

Dickens I really find the whole "environment" (for want of a better word) quite scary. As an undergraduate, I studied some original diaries and newspaper articles from 1930s Germany and similar themes repeat themselves. The environment becomes normalised and more people get dragged into it. It doesn't take much for a few people to exploit it.

The environment becomes normalised and more people get dragged into it.

I fear that's true - judging by some of the posts on social media, particularly Facebook where, once, overtly racist posts would be censored, they are now common currency.

Jane43

MayBee70

woodenspoon

Yes I thought the same some of those men were very aggressive. Maybe that’s why it’s taking the police longer to announce charges etc. I’d have been very afraid if it were me.

I think it’s going to be a very complicated case when it goes to court as the defendants lawyers will say that he was in fear of his life and panicked.

You could be right there is footage of his car being attacked before he started to drive into people.

As far as I know, there is no footage of the car/driver before the attack on the car in Dale Street (the one where somebody throws something at the back window and breaks it). The police have stated they are trawling CCTV to try and understand what led to that initial attack.

My understanding is that Dale Street wasn't blocked off. There are certainly other cars in that first video and nobody seems to be taking much notice of them. The videos in the public domain only show part of the whole story.

The main incident happened in Water Street, which is a continuation of Dale Street. It was blocked off and drivers were supposed to follow a diversion on the left, but (as has been stated) the barrier was removed to let an ambulance through, but the car tailgated it. From the videos I've seen, the fans didn't start attacking (for a second time) until the driver sped up and started hitting people, including veering off to mount the pavement. The car then stopped.

That's all I've seen. Being drugged up/drunk would maybe explain the behaviour. I don't believe for one moment that Merseyside Police have covered up anything and it's sickening to read that at least one person was falsely IDed and has had to leave his house.

Dickens

growstuff

Dickens I really find the whole "environment" (for want of a better word) quite scary. As an undergraduate, I studied some original diaries and newspaper articles from 1930s Germany and similar themes repeat themselves. The environment becomes normalised and more people get dragged into it. It doesn't take much for a few people to exploit it.

The environment becomes normalised and more people get dragged into it.

I fear that's true - judging by some of the posts on social media, particularly Facebook where, once, overtly racist posts would be censored, they are now common currency.

X (Twitter) is worse. I don't often use it now because the people I used to "follow" mainly use other platforms.

I hate to think what some of the closed groups and platforms which pride themselves on "free speech" are like.

They have just released some footage of the car before he reached the point where people were throwing things at the car. He narrowly misses another pedestrian, but there were people all over the road at this point as well.

Unfortunately, dealing with both these issues is not going to be easy - however calm or measured a government's response is in the future to the growing resentment against asylum seekers and immigrants. The baying crowd wants vengeance, and there are politicians willing to exploit their fears

Fueled by people like Lucy Connolly.

Dickens

growstuff

Dickens I really find the whole "environment" (for want of a better word) quite scary. As an undergraduate, I studied some original diaries and newspaper articles from 1930s Germany and similar themes repeat themselves. The environment becomes normalised and more people get dragged into it. It doesn't take much for a few people to exploit it.

The environment becomes normalised and more people get dragged into it.

I fear that's true - judging by some of the posts on social media, particularly Facebook where, once, overtly racist posts would be censored, they are now common currency.

I’ve reported many racist posts on Facebook. In each case I’ve been told that there is nothing wrong with the comment and they just tell me to block that person.

I just can't go there but I commend you trying.

Who owns Facebook now and why have they changed? Can UK laws apply?

The original video evidence shows him driving on the pavement, which is dangerous driving. Causing serious injury as a result of dangerous driving carries a maximum five years' custody with a minimum two years' driving ban. If there was evidence of drugs or drink, there would be additional charges. If he's charged, I guess it will be up to the court to decide whether there was intent to murder the people he drove into. Depending on how it all started, I guess there might be mitigating factors.

I live in the Liverpool area . And some of the comments are way off the mark . Read BBC news. He did not fear for his life as he was off his face on drugs. He followed an ambulance attending a suspected heart attack. He repeatedly hit people with his car trapped 4 under his car . Firefighters,police and public had to lift the car off them.

Some of the comments on here I have no words for . Well I have but not printable .

I think what I find so sad is that there are people out there just looking to turn any tragedy into a cause celebre which spreads racial hatred. So much so that the police have to say the arrested person is a white British male. What sort of society are we becoming? I thought we'd become a more tolerant, inclusive society but we haven't have we? It is just so depressing!

I'd felt the same, Foxie. Those days of Black Lives Matter not so long ago.

We can't do a lot but as I said it would be good if reporting very nasty SM posts on sites meant they were consistently taken down. If there was an acceptance by those running Facebook and the like that they were out of order.

Galaxy

They have just released some footage of the car before he reached the point where people were throwing things at the car. He narrowly misses another pedestrian, but there were people all over the road at this point as well.

Where can I find the latest footage?

Thanks!

He did not fear for his life as he was off his face on drugs

There is far more drug driving than we ever realise.
Someone was badly injured near here on a pedestrian crossing in the early morning by someone who had been taking drugs at breakfast-time.

This is a clip from a fake AI image which has been circulating.

Anybody notice a slight error?

Gggrrr! Why doesn't my image show?

Ooops! Now it does!

Clue: Liverpool doesn't rhyme with Interpol.

Allira

^He did not fear for his life as he was off his face on drugs^

There is far more drug driving than we ever realise.
Someone was badly injured near here on a pedestrian crossing in the early morning by someone who had been taking drugs at breakfast-time.

There really is! I read recently that there are more drug driving offences than drunk driving offences.😲