Police beat up innocent parent - got to love PC Plod at times

I am a football fan. I have travelled all over the country following my team and have never been in any trouble. There has been trouble around me but I've always managed to stay clear of it like the majority of fans. However there are times when trouble just runs up and finds you and in the instance of Cliff Auger he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He was walking back to his car after the Chelsea v QPR FA Cup Match in January with his two sons and two of their mates. One of their mates needed the loo so dashed into a pub to use the facilities and then the pub was under lock-down due to some trouble. The dad approached a police officer and asked if his sons mate could be allowed to leave as he had responsibility for the kid, which is fair enough I think we can all agree.

What happened next was a Police Dog was seemingly released and sunk his teeth into his sons leg. Auger then did what every dad would do and kicked the dog to get him to release his grip. It worked and the dog then turned and went for him. The parent then curled up into a ball to save himself from getting bitten anywhere too bad but instead of the dogs handler coming and saving him, the police turned on the Chelsea fan and beat him senseless. They punctured his lung and broken four ribs.

He was arrested for kicking the dog and also for using threatening behaviour. The latter charge was dismissed after a two day trial but he was found guilty of the former. The judge decided that the case didn't warrant a conditional discharge because he thought that the parent should've stood back and watched his son getting bitten by a dog.

How crazy is that? I mean honestly. The evidence against him was flimsy at best as all the police stories contradicted one another but that didn't matter when all is said and done. A parent protecting his dog from being attacked by a dog clearly deserved a £500 fine and a criminal record. The police officers who beat him to a pulp though and allowed a dog to bite an innocent boy though had no case to answer.

It disgusts me when I read this type of thing. There is little doubt that if anyone was in the wrong then it was the police but they are above the law. They cover for each other and are quite happy to club an innocent man if they fancy it. They will sleep fine at night even though they know they've acted inappropriately.

I know the vast majority of the police do a great job in what is very difficult circumstances. It just seems that when they get into a situation where they know they can get away with a beating then they'll do it and give an innocent guy a right clobbering to get him back for all the guilty people that have slipped through their fingers.

Those officers involved will probably to used by the Met this weekend at some sporting event in the capital and they might do exactly the same again. They won't think twice of it. I myself have seen a dog go for a little boy who couldn't of been more than five and his granddad smacked the dog on the nose with his matchday programme right in front of me. The Police dog handler shouted at his dog and apologised to the man and boy straight away. This is what should've happened in this situation but common sense clearly didn't prevail.

I hope the Chelsea fans who travelled to Middlesbrough managed to raise the money they were looking for to cover his fine and costs. What scares me is that sometimes you can be totally innocent (and yes he was – I don't give two hoots that he kicked the dog – he did what every single person would do in that situation) and yet end up in the cells and walk out of court tainted by society as a criminal.