Met Police assaulted me causing broken hip at Palestine Action protest

This is a quick note to document a shocking incident in my life. One of the worst things to happen to me. I am 76-years-of-age. I am a retired solicitor and photographer. I still love photography. The photographs on this page are by me.

I decided to photograph the Palestine Action protest at Parliament Square on 6th September as the cause both in support of Palestinians and freedom of speech deeply interest me.

I had attended the earlier protest of the same type when groups of police officers waded into the mix of the crowd and the protestors to arrest placard-carrying protestors and carry them way. At that event they developed the habit of barging through people when carrying the deliberately passive protestors to the police vans surrounding the square or the holding area down the A3212 to the west of Parliament Square.

You’d see a group of say five cops carrying a very passive placard-holder. They were arrested because it is illegal in the UK to carry a placard saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.

So, on the 6th Sept at around 3 pm, as I recall, I positioned myself down the A3212 to try and capture an image of the cops managing a difficult arrestee as they walked towards the police vans. This particular arrestee was not I believe a placard-holder but one of the other attendees at the protest as he was not passive. There were many.

There were also many photographers and many people supporting their own protest unrelated to Palestine Action.

Many of these ‘spectators’ where chanting at the police very loudly. It was intense and effective. The police were in the middle of it and were struggling to keep their cool. The police were harangued from all quarters.

The police were just carrying out orders. It is the ‘higher ups’ who should be criticised and harangued.

Anyway I was on the wide tarmac of the A3212 (or its slip road called St Margaret Street leading to the A3212) about to get a picture of a group of about 10 cops wrestling with this man of colour as they moved west towards the holding area and vans.

Suddenly a cop from the front of the group broke free. He was around 5 feet 7 inches in height (quite short by police standards). He had a dark, carefully trimmed beard. Lots of police have beards to enhance their macho image.

This cop charged at me unexpectedly. He must have been travelling at around 8 miles per hour when he hit me with both arms extended; his hands thrust into my chest. I should say that he deliberately targetted me as he had to move to the right slightly to get to me as I was ‘off centre’ to allow the cops through.

I was bowled over violently, falling very heavily on my upper left leg against hard tarmac. All the weight of the fall hit that spot and although I did not know it at the time, it broke my hip (the upper part of the femur described as the neck).

I felt intense pain and could not walk. I was lying on the road and equally suddenly surrounded by five police officers peering down at me interspersed with frantic photographers. I was the subject matter of the photographers. The roles had been reversed.

The cops asked me to get off the road but I could not move. They carried me to the pavement. The cops that helped me after that violent impact were nice to me. I guess they had to be but among them there were some good guys.

If you dislike the police; fine. But don’t brand all police bad. As in general society, there are decent cops with integrity and those that are at the other end of the spectrum.

The cops gave no warning and did not shout at me to move. As I recall there was room either side of me particularly to the right so no need for these cops to push me violently out of the way. This is a wide road. They could have chosen a path to right for instance. Or just asked me to get out of the way. Even if there was no room what he did was a crime.

I was innocently doing something entirely legal. A relatively passive and respectful bystander.

I was criminally assaulted by this officer causing serious harm.

Here is a screenshot of the location of where the assault occurred to the best of my recollection.

I was using a ‘motor drive’ at the time and had my finger on the shutter release as the cop charged at me. Here is one of those images. I don’t know for sure but logically the man on the left may be the cop who assaulted me because the image immediately afterwards is of the sky as I lay on the road. I recall his face as aggressive as he charged at me. The face we see here is quite calm but this is at impact I would suggest.

Ultimately I was carried to the area on the A3212 where arrestees where taken. I sat there in pain while the cops called an ambulance that took me to St. Thomas’ Hospital. One officer, Jake, stayed with me all the time.

He was nice to me although he was pleased to find a reason to get out the maelstrom of Parliament Square.

I arrived at St. Thomas’ in the early evening and operated on the next morning (Sunday). Through great effort on my part and the great services of this fine hospital (except for transportation!) I was discharged very early on the Thursday following (11th Sept.)

I have a long journey of recovery. Lots of pain. Lots of pain meds. I have complained to the IOPC and requested body cam video if it exists. The pain is bad enough to cause me to feel sick or be sick. It is a natural body function (see below). This despite painkillers because they wear off by the morning.

I am sure that the police violently assaulted me that day causing serious injury. I need accountability and some compensation. The former is more important than the latter for me at age 76.

More: police

Sickness and pain

Persistent high levels of pain can trigger nausea and even vomiting due to the complex interplay between the nervous system, hormonal responses, and the body’s instinctive survival mechanisms. When pain becomes intense—especially visceral or deep systemic pain—it activates the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which governs involuntary functions like digestion and heart rate. This heightened state of alert floods the body with stress hormones such as adrenaline, increasing heart rate and blood pressure, and disrupting normal gastrointestinal function.

The brain, overwhelmed by pain signals, may misinterpret this overload as a threat, prompting protective responses like nausea or vomiting. This reaction is partly evolutionary: vomiting is a way for the body to expel harmful substances, and in extreme pain, the body may mistakenly engage this defense mechanism. Additionally, chronic pain often leads to sleep deprivation, fatigue, and anxiety—all of which can exacerbate nausea.

Medications used to manage pain, such as opioids or anti-inflammatories, can also irritate the stomach lining or affect the brain’s nausea centers, compounding the issue. Ultimately, feeling sick during intense pain isn’t just psychological—it’s a physiological cascade designed to protect the body, even if it’s misfiring under duress.

Update 11th Oct – it has been a long journey through a nightmare landscape. I have insomnia for various reasons one of which is that the body is ‘jazzed up’ in defense mode, constantly alert. It is as if I am plugged into the mains electricity.

Also I have restless leg syndrome due to low iron due to the operation. I am struggling to find a solution to the insomnia but I know that eventually I will be back to normal.

After 5 weeks I can walk unaided by a cane and often do so. I limp and use my best efforts to eliminate it.

It has been a journey of pain and emotional upset. I am determined to get back to as normal a life as I can in say 4 months.

I am paying privately for physio treatment as the NHS have failed thus far to get their act together. The hospital where I was operated on – St. Thomas’ – requested physio but so far nothing despite chasing on at least 2 occasions.