and hello there to LEXI and BELLY...

Yes I agree with you, you do need to wonder if some of this stuff is not pre-planned, orchestrated, or conceived ? I heard on ABC radio I think, the 'lady' who was yelling and screaming (with other more 'colourful' expressions) was in reality, the Head of a group against... something or other ? But neither were involved in the actual activities of the Mardi Gras ?

I dunno BELLY, somewhere very deep down within all this mess, there are other motives that have no bearing on this particular Sydney event ? We'll see in the fullness of time I expect ?

Hello there LEXI...

I can only hope you've not been unwell ? But, you're back 'on board'
once more, examining and 'holding me to book' with everything I have to say ? I'd never wish for more LEXI, my 'moral compass' ! You keep many of us supid fellows in check, whenever we allow our mouths to run off, without thinking !

I too hope we've (police) moved on from the days of 'the biff' ? Not altogether I would expect. They have too many processes to audit their 'on duty' conduct and professionalism, then they did back in the fifties to the late eighties.

But LEXI, I'm sorry to disappoint you but I must state quite clearly, and my own opinion too, there are certain police who are BADLY needed to dispense some, as the say, 'sidewalk justice'. Otherwise the country would be inundated with violent street hoodlems the kind that exist now in certain parts of Sydney.

I've heard it said somewhere, 'violence begets violence', and in some cases, so it should. Interestingly, in your last sentence you said '...police are either too aggressive, or too weak...' ? I couldn't agree with you more, there needs to be a precise balance !

Many thanks for your most welcome contribution LEXI.

O sung wu, you sound like a nice policeman :)
I wouldn't suggest that most policemen are thugs at all, but some seem to be.

Mind you, I wouldn't blame them sometimes, with the terrible people they have to contend with on many occasions.

I went out with a policeman at one time, and he found the violence involved in the job to be too stressful.
He left the job and became an accountant...

lexi and susie,
Firstly, Lexi good to see you back and I hope all is well.

I think the bloke in question has been charged and I notice Belly said he had been touching other people inappropriately. I did not read that but saw he had been 'inocently tickling' people. what ever that means.

It is obvious from the smh video that he was violently kicking out at police and it seems to me total immobilization was appropriate. I think the copper did a good job of that.

Years ago the police were all big and their size demanded respect. A few youngsters got a swift kick in the bum and that was the end of their playing up. Not so these days and there is a general lack of respect by many toward others and some care not if they spoil an event for others. They also think they should not be hurt and treated with kid gloves. Coppers today need gloves to stop getting an infection from them.
Below is a link about the conduct of many yesterday at Randwick. It is indicative of how some people act.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/charged-at-music-festival-in-sydney/story-e6freuz0-1226594084283

You hate your uncle and he is an old man. But he does not represent police of any age. He does not represent all men.

Overwhelmingly, the men and women who enter the force to serve the community, and yes I do believe they retain their good morals and sense of duty. You besmirch this cop and you disgrace all men with your unreasoning hatred,

http://mobile.news.com.au/national-news/amazing-photograph-shows-officer-calm-in-the-face-of-danger-at-height-of-queen-street-mall-gun-drama/story-fncynjr2-1226593540966

You generalise about 'old' policeMEN. But I could tell other stories. For example the senior sergeant who led the search for a child lost in the bush near our property. All of the local farmers were in the search and so was I as an adolescent who knew the bush as my backyard. I remember this policeman in a state of collapse refusing to give up. His exasperation and fear were well-based, the tiny scrap of humanity we were seeking could have been passed by (small children curl up very small when exhausted). They found this earnest cop with a torch out combing through previously searched areas instead of sleeping.

You don't need evidence for your opinions. You are free to say whatever you like. But without evidence your credibility must suffer, particularly when you generalise from your own limited life experience of your uncle.

My above post was directed to Suseonline. I should have noted that.

Onthebeach, I think I said SOME police have problems, just like SOME men have problems with all women.
You will believe what you want though.

I admire many police, but you would be naive to think that every one of them is above reproach, as it would be in all professions.

It seems nothing I say is ever ok with you Onthebeach, and I can't help that...