Police to take no further action after protester’s neck knelt on by HS2 guard
A SECURITY guard who was filmed kneeling on the neck of a protester will face no further action.
The man was seen in that position for several minutes while detaining a protester at the Fradley Woods HS2 work site, near Burton, in November last year.
The incident took place after the protester threw items, which were thought to be carrots, over the fence at the site.
Wildlife group members Peter and Linda Norbury, filmed the incident, described it as “upsetting” and called for action to be taken against the guard.
However, it has now been confirmed the security guard involved will not be prosecuted by Staffordshire Police, to the astonishment of the Norburys.
The pair, from Lichfield, had gone to see how much deforestation had taken place as HS2 carried out works clearing a path for the high-speed rail line.
Mrs Norbury said: “I’m absolutely astonished no further action is being taken.
“It seemed to us to be unreasonable force, because the protester had a catapult, but no other weapon. There were about six or seven guards and the protester’s neck was knelt on for 10 to 15 minutes.
The footage speaks for itself. I was shouting at them, ‘Why won’t you let him up? There are so many of you.’
“When he was firing things from his catapult, which we believed to be carrots, it wasn’t at people, but just over the fence. We saw him fire one object.
“It seems to me the reaction to what he did was over the top, especially considering there were more of them (the guards) and he (the protester) wasn’t a particularly big guy. Why did they kneel on his neck? The catapult was on the ground next to him.
“A few motorists stopped and remonstrated as well. It was very, very upsetting and a thoroughly unpleasant experience.
“I couldn’t believe it was going on in the 21st century. I can’t describe how horrible it was.
“It was months after the George Floyd incident in America. It was distressing.”
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: “Officers attended Fradley,
Lichfield, on November 15 following reports that a man had used a catapult to fire objects at staff working at the site.
“A 50-year-old man from Wolverhampton was arrested on suspicion of assault and possessing an offensive weapon. He received a conditional caution.
“Following the incident we
received a complaint about how this man was restrained by security staff at the location.
“A full investigation was undertaken in relation to the allegation. Having reviewed footage, interviewed staff and witnesses, a decision was made that no further action will be taken in relation to this incident.”
An HS2 spokesman said: “The police have investigated this incident thoroughly and decided to take no further action. While activists continually make vexatious claims about the behaviour of our contractors, they also illegally trespass on our construction sites, endangering themselves, our workers and the general public, subject our hardworking employees to violent behaviour, and place unnecessary strain on the emergency services during the pandemic.”
In November, the firm said: “In recent weeks, HS2 has been repeatedly and excessively targeted by political activists who have trespassed on construction sites, endangering themselves, our workers and the general public, subjecting our hard-working employees to violence and anti-social behaviour and placing unnecessary strain on the emergency services during the pandemic.
“HS2 has been approved by democratically-elected MPs on multiple occasions and the project is playing a pivotal role in helping Britain’s economic recovery.
“There are 13,000 people already working on the project and we recently announced a further 22,000 jobs across the country at a time when it needs them most.”