Maybe we will? It’s interesting that the tools that Big Brother can use to watch you can also be used to keep an eye on Big Brother himself. Case in point: the Toni Corner arrest.
Toni Corner is a 19-year-old woman who was roughed up by some cops in Sheffield during her arrest last year. The footage was captured on CCTV—have a look. (There’s a button there that shows you a full-screen version.) Naturally, there is immense hoo-ha over this, and the cops in question have now found themselves accountable through what is a classic law-enforcement tool. (By the by, just to be fair, here’s the main cop’s side of the story.)
I’ve visited England but have never lived there, so I lack first-hand experience of English law enforcement. Two questions come to mind:
1] Would the cops have behaved differently if the woman wasn’t black?
2] Would the media have behaved differently if the cops had beaten up a white woman in an identical manner? Or a black man? Or a white man?
The answers to those questions should not impact what is done in this particular case, of course. Just interesting, that’s all.
(Link via email from Kind Friend.)