Gardai Harrasing Busker in Templebar

BigSiyo85 wrote: »

I am the person who made this video. I am 1 of a group of 3 buskers who have been operating mainly inside the arch of Temple bar but tend to move up towards Fitzsimons / Harry's Burger's area. We are well known and friendly with all the flyer girls and gent's who work that area on the weekend. From Club Havanna, Madonna's and others. We are friendly with the security in the Londis inside the arch, friendly to say we have been operating maybe a month and they have NEVER had a single issue with us.
I not not a scumbag, a knack bag, a knacker nor am I filth.

I'll quickly run thru how our relations with the Gardai has been......

First memory was during afternoon on Henry St, a Guard asked us to move as we were using amp....he advised going towards Liffey St. So we set up on the corner there, he comes up an says he like's the music but if he gets a single call he has to shut us down. We agree, he never gets a call, we all live happy.

Secondly, we were playing between 2 am and 2:30 am when a Guard approaches, mid tune, whilst there is a crowd of local's and tourists alike having a really good, harmless, fun time. He say's there was calls regarding noise and the hour and we have to wrap up. We agree and move up towards Central Bank. We set back up between Dame Street and Central Bank, whilst playing someone threw a coin that hit Paddy in the face, Paddy is a friend who was singing (Not a regular busker in this group of 3 but another busker who was singing at time). Amazingly and certainly not provoked by any of the busker's actions a spectator went and punched the culprit in the face. With that 4 or 5 Gardai and a squad car came in no time and pulled the hero spectator offside, they dealt with said culprit and proceeded to listen to us for over 20/30 minutes in Central Bank area. That leads us to believe the "call" or "calls" the earlier Guard speaks of was a lie. As if there were call's it would be known by all Guards in area that "calls have been made to shut buskers in Temple Bar down". Therefore them 4 or 5 would of shut us down straight away. What was earlier Guards motive to lie about calls ?

Thirdly, Whilst setting up (as per usual, just inside the arch, Temple Bar) a Guard on a push bike see's us while passing by. He tells us not to set up, not to start playing and if we did he would take our amp and have us all arrested. Then he left and we set up and played for nearly 2 hours before moving on of our own accord. Why would that Guard, in that instant, be so determined that we don't play and we don't set up yet he couldn't be bothered coming back, as if it was pointless for the verbal tirade to begin with ? Why ?

Fourthly, Were a group, 2 vocals and guitar. Imagine Sean at the back and Justin and I in front either side, to form a triangle. Im the rapper and Justin is the singer. It was during his particular bit of this particular tune so he was doing the singing at the time. I was drinking a can of red bull too. This short Guard comes barging in, intentionally hits my arm nearly knocking can out of my hand, very intentional, just to do it. He grabs Justin. Demanding that ALL music is turned off and that he wants his name and the rest. Another Guard grabs me by my am.
As were not just idiots who obey whatever these particular Guards demand we speak up for ourselves. Funnily enough Justin recognized the Guard holding my arm but couldn't place the name. It was laughed off by both Guards until Justin DID remember the name, it was a beautiful moment when the short, aggressive Guard looks at the other Guard and other Guard realizes he is caught denying an honest claim. Within minutes they finish up after a word or 2 and end up leaving the scene, leaving us with everything, no intention to arrest or anything like it.

The video is really Fifthly and there is a Sixth occasion which I will get too,
But the annoying thing is, and from these accounts which are very truthful, there is no consistency to there treatment to us. Some allow the amp and like our music. Others don't allow the amp but allow unplugged. Others don't accept anything at all. Some threaten arrest others confiscation. Some lie about complaints coming thru on radio and others deny knowing you or deny knowing your name when there shown to do so.

It is important to point out that all this happens whilst there is other acts using amp's within earshot.
***ALL WHILST THERE IS OTHER ACTS USING AMP'S WITHIN EARSHOT***

Now regarding the video, (Fifthly)
There is alot of "What happened before" "probably" "he could of".
I am a busker in this group of 3, that's why the video is so close. The Guard at the very start asks us to switch off the amp after our current tune. In the "Pre Arrest Video" you can see 2 Gardai come up and whisper in Justin's ear, Justin flashes a thumbs up and they walk away satisfied. As they walk off in "Pre Arrest Video" they are satisfied. After said track we turn off our amp, there is a video on YouTube page of the crowd leading Colt 45 with a guitar and cajon (the cajon player, John, comes out once a bluemoon).

***Also this is in and around 2am, certainly not 3am***

In my opinon, I feel the Guard was hoping by telling us to turn off the amp the buzz would cease, but when the whole crowd went on singing loudly, in spite if nothing else, said Gardai did not like that. Ego was at question at this point as we all bashed out this tune. So they quickly decided that the guitar and cajon were to be put away and muted. The crowd, some local...a lot were tourists couldn't understand why the reason for intervention. We knew from previous run-in's that they, for whatever reason, didn't want us dong what we do. But why we don't know. With that Justin takes a seat on the cajon whilst talking to another Guard looking for explanation as to why we have to stop. He keeps repeating to Justin that he has been told and he quotes a law or something. Not a reasonable explanation and certainly wouldn't be accepted from me to a Guard. While Justin is asking for a valid reason as to why we have to stop even tho we turned off our amp, the Guard found it fit to grab him by the scruff of the neck. He and other Guards think the answer to the initial situation was to grab Justin from his seat and push him towards the wall, and then towards me. I used my body to try stop them from running Justin back until he fell backwards. The crowd, having watched us peacefully, harmfully entertain strangers all evening, saw this ill-treatment and shouted in reaction to these Guards grabbing Justin initially for nothing.
Baring in mind, we proved they cant keep us down by keeping the buzz very much alive without the amp, they had a chip and were a wee bit hurt over that, as we got that very minor 1 over them.

*** THOSE WHO SAY HE RESISTED ARREST, THERE WAS NO GROUNDS FOR ARREST,
HE WAS SCRUFFED BY A MAN IN A UNIFORM WHO HAD HIS EGO HURT BY 3 GUYS WHO HAD A GROUP OF PEOPLE JAMMING AND, IN THAT MOMENT IN TIME, WERE HELD IN MUCH HIGHER REGARD THEN THEM ROWDY GARDAI, JUSTIN WAS GRABBED WITHOUT REAL REASON AND NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS HAVE A DEFENSE MECHANISM, JUST BECAUSE YOUR ALMIGHTY GUARDS DOES NOT MEAN DEFENSE IS DISABLED IN THE HUMAN INSTINCT ***

So with no grounds for arrest and what looks like assault, Justin tries free himself from this bully pulling out of him. Still not "under arrest", he did NOTHING to warrant the initial grab from that bully Guard. He tries to free himself, other Guards follow suit and then it's basically a done deal, with no good reason at all. So he is grounded, in that time a Guard reaches for my phone in an attempt to grab it. My property sir, thank you. Also, your there for our protection paid for by us, so (in this instant, with the previous) we will be filming you....just like you do us.
In that time while attempting to record as many numbers I could with the madness going on around me a tussle ensues a few feet towards the arch, which I am almost certain was verbal and not physical (but was focusing elsewhere so could of missed something). Well my head turned due to the commotion before my hand did, GR B 929 had his baton drawn and administered 2 or 3 hits to the legs. The man with hat, glasses, moustache and scarf is furious in video. That's evidence something outlandish just happened. We don't know nor never met this man. His anger and shock is not out of no where and for nothing. He witnessed abuse from this Guard, who told him to stay back whilst brandishing the baton. This guy was hit at least 3 times for seemingly not a whole lot. The camera catches a definite 1. What happens next is weird and has more questions then answers.
The guy, who is NOT a busker, is wrestled to the ground and held for a short time. Then GR B 929 gets up and other Guard gets up and then the guy is allowed to his feet.
To this point, if a person is under arrest and needs a baton and pepper spray to apprehend he is NOT allowed to his feet of his own accord. That leads me to believe, to this point, he is NOT under arrest. So he is allowed to leave the scene. If he is allowed to get to his feet of own accord he is not under arrest well then he can leave the scene....to this point in the video. Then he starts to run, and the Guard seems to respond to the jeering of the crowd, "Run". So one Guard takes chase while the baton wielding reserve is in 2 minds as what to do.
I believe the Guard failed to operate under pressure and only chased this guy because of the jeer's. Mainly because he was allowed get to his feet and find his breath all on his own, untouched. So the 2 Guards take chase up the Arch and onto Ha'Penny bridge. The lead Guard clips the guy's heels twice....succeeding in the second. And you see the chap is in an absolute ball.
The man with the moustache, hat etc has also followed us up and his only concern is to confront GR B 929 regarding the use of his baton, which is evident in video. Which the Guard promptly denies but looks flustered when he see's that someone actually WAS on the ball with the video. Were moved away and told not to question authority,
I in no way stopped them from doing there job. Not before the chase nor on the bridge. They created a hostile vibe with a bully, speak down to people attitude.

***THAT MAN WHO FOLLOWS US UP, HIS SHOCK AND ANGER IS NOT MISPLACED***

Part 2
By the end of this video maybe between 9 and 15 Gardai are taken off the streets to deal with this, a couple of squad cars and a van. All because that bully grabbed Justin for no proper reason. That was when it escalated. If these trained Guards only dealt with or moved on the crowd......assess the situation with common sense, prioritize and deal with it, like you were trained to do. Don't grab the guy who was singing all night for no proper grounds in front of a group of people who have been listening to him for the last hour. And then they can throw the resisting arrest when they feel like grabbing people, when the ego is hurt ???
And they all have that ego. Before they even leave Maynooth. That attitude, smirk and ego is all in place. And your crazy if you think a busker, with a Dublin accent is going to make them look silly in front of a crowd. But again, if they had sense they could have prioritized and dealt with it all accordingly. But that simply is a bridge too far.

Also in part 2 a group of 2 or 3 Gardai arrive....one grabbing my hand/phone wanting my property I'm in my rights to be using and another grabbing my other arm. Within seconds there is commotion by the back of the van and these Guards who have both arms, more or less, think that this commotion is more important. Then the video trails out with a girl complaining about he camera.

At this time, I had my phone out for one reason. Protection. The Guards tend to lie under the safety of an oath or a uniform or the ignorance of the people there dealing with. They tend to act beyond duty when they feel no one is watching. Also, with prior inconsistent, aggressive, oppressive style dealings with the Guards whilst busking before I wanted this to be caught on tape. I certainly didn't think it would escalate to what it did. Maybe why my phone was nearly stolen twice by Gardai. Once resulting in me cursing and calling him filth.
Those who say I shouldn't record or anyone should record Gardai on there duty is very naive or a Guard themselves. We, the public, are more or less recorded from when we enter the city centre to when we leave. I know CCTV isn't as far as housing estates etc but your filmed 24/7 whilst in town. All without your "permission".
Also these guys are our servants, paid by tax paying people who are employed to uphold the law and serve the public. In a public place.

***WE CAN TAPE THEM FROM THE START OF THERE SHIFT TO THE END, THEY SERVE US, NOT RULE US***

In this video I may have lost my cool by cursing and commenting. Or even getting too close, but due to prior I know how this gang of animals operate so it wasn't going unrecorded. I actually only call a Guard "filth" once and then on the bridge I refer to GR B 929's treatment and use of weapon "filth".
All the Gardai commenting, all the misinformed opinions made from assumption, all the honest people missing the relevant points. These bully coppers know exactly whats going on as do we....We know about every moment we cross paths and who acts in what fashion.

SATURDAY.........
That video is from Friday.....PLEASE READ UPDATE at start of video for Saturday's proceedings, absolute thugs who acted far from outside the law. They used a tactical op to get us into the van in 30 seconds to 1 minute in order to save a 2nd video. They grabbed us with NO CAUTION, NO RIGHTS READ AND NO GROUNDS FOR CHARGE(S)

They dumped all 3 of us cuffed into the reversing van with NO CAUTION, NO RIGHTS READ AND NO GROUNDS FOR CHARGE(S).
I lost a runner in the melee and I am actually thankful a Guard grabbed it. That actually was appreciated (no sarcasm).
But we were in that spot for up to 10 minutes pleading to grab our amp, micraphones, guitar, all our wires and jacks etc. Justin's bag's with certain belongings. We pleaded to either let us, or 1 grab it or please could they grab it. We were ignored and ALL of our equipment was left to a raging crowd, that the Gardai with there overkill, bully tactic's had enraged.

***ALL EQUIPMENT WAS STOLEN DUE TO US BEING KIDNAPPED BY GARDAI WITH NO RIGHTS READ OR NOW CAUTION -ALL OUR PROPERTY WAS STOLEN OR "LOST", 3 BUSKERS TREATED LIKE CRIMINALS, CHECK OUR VIDEO'S OUR FACEBOOK PAGE,THE PEOPLE IN THE VIDEOS, WE ARE HARMLESS, WE DON'T HARM BUT DO QUITE THE OPPOSITE - ALL EQUIPMENT WAS STOLEN, AND PART OF GUITAR THAT WAS SMASHED WAS FOUND IN SPOT WHEN WE RETURNED ON WAY HOME - THIS IS REFERING TO SATURDAY, NOT NIGHT OF VIDEO***

Our Facebook page full of people who love what we do
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Undutchables/501013826582956

Our YouTube page with said videos spoke of ( Colt 45 after asking to cut amp, and intimidation on the Saturday)
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGWvuVJ6L4J-uBzE5n2P9LA

A link to an ever growing photo album of all our proceedings
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3319799092577.111270.1796281652&type=3

We are NOT SCUM nor are WE KNACKERS - We are PROVOKED AND BULLIED

Cheers

BigSiyo85 wrote: »

On the occasion or night of the video.....we were NOT told a number of times to stop and move on. We were NOT told we would be arrested. We did NOT refuse to comply with lawful proceedings. I did NOT interfere. He did NOT resist a lawful arrest.