Is the image used in the Star Fake?

Real police on duty that day

Click to enlarge. Is this image faked?

John of Gwent as raised some interesting points over on the Green Arrow Forum about the images used in the disgraceful distortion of events at the hugely successful Red, White and Blue by The Star newspaper. I post JOG in full....

I'm sorry but as a scientist I am trained to ask awkward questions and as a biologist i am trained to ask awkward questions about images. That photo of a protester being handcuffed looks terribly phoney to me and the more I look at it the more I wonder.

The 'stab jacket' this chap is wearing for a start. Why is the angle of the camera rigged so we can't read the words on the label on the back. If this were a policeman handcuffing a protestor what are the chances that the photographer would go for the precise angle where the word 'POLICE' in bold on the back of the stab jacket were illegible.

Second, how many policemen have you ever seen in uniform in ***BLUE*** shirts. All the ones I know wear white shirts with their number clearly visible on the shoulder or black military style "wooly pullys"again with the number on the shoulder. You can see plenty of examples in the photographs of the protestors walking through the village waving their banners.

Third, where the hell is this bloke's helmet. What sort of riot copper would remove his helmet - and thereby invite a bottling - in a situation where he is one-on-one with a'protestor' with no obvious support. yes I *KNOW* the image has been photoshopped but if he had support from other officers then they would be impeding the photograph -which was what made me suspicious in the first place.

Fourth, it's a damn strange stance to be taking when 'handcuffing' someone. Have you ever been in a situation where you need to detain a burglar. I have several times. You pin the buggers to the floor with your knee in the small of their back. You need them chest down. If you let them turn to the position this 'protestor' has achieved the next thing you can expect is a knee in the googlies. This I learned the hard way from a thieving scum who was trying to steal my car. HE learned that if you knee someone in the gonads you'd better do it properly as if they are not immediately immobilised you can expectfractures in return.

Fifth, where's this 'copper's extra equipment ? His pepper spray / cs gas / taser ? His truncheon ? Indeed where the hell is ANY of the equipment all of the other coppers in photographs of real coppers were carrying. Go back to the GA blog and to the post 'Damn but I do love a Sunday' and view the pictures of the coppers there. NOW do you see what I am getting at.

Sixth please also note in that photograph in the 'damn i do love a sunday' posting the two or three helmeted policemen with full police beat equipment, the bloke wearing a similar coloured hi-vis jacket with the word STEWARD, standing with arms folded, and now pay particular attention to the balding older chap standing in the middle of the protestors with a yellow hi-vis jacket with NO labels of any sort, a bright blue shirt, and his hands in his pockets. Who the ***k is he ?? And is it a pal of his with ginger hair making the 'arrest' on that star photo ?

Tags: RWB, The Star, UAF