Self proclaimed political activist, author and disgraced ‘journalist’, Jody McIntyre has fallen remarkably silent in recent months. There was a time when his words were being reported everywhere – that time appears to be over.
A little over a year ago McIntyre alleged that the actions of the officers who removed him from his wheelchair during the student protests on 9th December 2010 were both unlawful and discriminatory on the basis that he was doing nothing wrong and was disabled. In his own blog he wrote:
When we reached the front, the batons began to fly. One came landing straight onto my left shoulder, sending a sharp, shooting pain down my arm. Others were taking blows to the head. Children, women, men, all being brutalised by the police. Then the horses came, horses that could easily kill people, but we would not budge. We held our ground.
Suddenly, four policemen grabbed my shoulders and pulled me out of my wheelchair. My friends and younger brother struggled to pull me back, but were beaten away with batons. The police carried me away.
He embarked upon a campaign against the officers he believed were involved, naming them by shoulder number and posting pictures on the internet. He took part in a string of interviews on TV and appeared sure that his case would be made out…attempting to stir up the media and his swell his numbers of supporters as he went.By mid May the Met’s DPS, under the supervision of the IPCC, had concluded that there was no evidence to substantiate any of McIntyre’s claims. Although he was removed from his wheelchair and taken away from his brother and other protesters the investigation found that
the actions of officers were justifiable and lawful given the volatile and dangerous situation occurring at the location and his removal from his wheelchair was also justifiable given the officers’ perceived risk to Jody McIntyre
Within months Jody had found a new target for his attentions. The London Riots in August 2011 attracted him like a moth to a petrol-soaked rag and he was back in the thick of the action. Unfortunately his activist mindset and anti-police stance coupled with the availability of immediate publication via social media was his own worst enemy and the inflammatory nature of his comments on Twitter brought him into conflict with his beloved media, resulting in his exclusion from the Independent’s list of approved bloggers and widespread criticism.
He continued to write on his own blog until the beginning of this year, penning half a dozen articles in as many days, but on 17th January his blog fell silent. His twitter feed still seems to be active mostly consists of one line statements about Syria, Libya and Palestine but there is nothing of any real substance to be found anywhere else.
Is it the lack of political unrest that has kept him out of the spotlight? Possibly. Maybe he will make an appearance at the May 10th Police March in London. I would be interested to know whether the man who champions the cause of those with a disability would have a view on Winsor’s proposal to financially persecute any Police officer who receives a career limiting injury in the line of duty. You never know, he might even support US on that one!
