A furious energy efficiency engineer has called on the police to ‘do their job’ after he was threatened with assault charges for attempting to remove Just Stop Oil protesters from the road on his way to work.
Jack Kerr, 38, claims he was warned twice that he could be arrested after he leapt out of his vehicle in a bid to remove eco-zealots blocking Waterloo Road, London, on Tuesday.
The HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) engineer, who ironically specialises in making offices more energy efficient, said he was even forced to hand his details over to officers who allowed Just Stop Oil to carry out one of a handful of ‘slow marches’ this week.
Mr Kerr, who is from south-east London, was confronted by police after tearing down the group’s banners – some of which he has kept hold of – which were being displayed by the group by the IMAX cinema.
In one video shared by Just Stop Oil, he could be heard telling the demonstrators to ‘f*** off, every single one of you’ and ‘move out of the way’ as he took matters into his own hands while officers told him they were waiting for ‘more units to arrive’.
As he ripped the banners out of their hands and attempted to channel them to the side of the road, Mr Kerr was approached by an officer saying ‘if you push them, that’s assault – if you do that, that is a crime’.
Jack Kerr (pictured) was told he would be committing assault if he tried to move Just Stop Oil supporters out of the road against their will
Mr Kerr (pictured with banners he kept) has called on the police to ‘do their job’ after he was threatened with assault charges for attempting to remove Just Stop Oil protesters from the road on his way to work
Mr Kerr told MailOnline that after the protesters had dispersed – and he attempted to carry on with his journey to work – the same officer warned him that he could be arrested again, and asked him to hand over his details.
He said: ‘I said to the officer “I’m more than happy for you to arrest me. You go to the police station, the CPS will laugh at you, the sergeant will laugh. You take it to court, the judge will probably laugh.”
‘How can you threaten me with that – it’s crazy. I’ve just done your job for you. It’s insane.’
Mr Kerr, who said he successfully moved the protesters without police, added: ‘For the police officer to come over to say you may get arrested… they should be doing their job.
‘In my eyes they are not doing their job. They are not clearing the road. You’re stopping people going to work, you’re stopping emergency services – that in my eyes – and other people’s – you can’t be doing that.’
The April 25 slow march was one of many that Just Stop Oil have carried out this week – just days after they joined offshoot group Extinction Rebellion, Insulate Britain and other eco-mobs for ‘The Big One’ in London over the weekend.
Mr Kerr believes that police officers are afraid of the backlash they might receive if they handle eco-zealots during their protests.
‘The police, I don’t understand how they are not just moving them to the pavement,’ he added.
Footage obtained by MailOnline from his colleague showed another angle of Mr Kerr trying to get to work
‘I think the police are scared to do that because of smartphones, people filming it. That’s the problem nowadays. Too much social media and the backlash. [People saying] the police are in the wrong. No, they are in the wrong because they are not doing anything.’
Mr Kerr thought he would be fine to continue his journey to Covent Garden for work when returned to his van and the protesters had moved.
However, he explained: ‘I had no traffic in front of me, I put my van in first gear. The police officer put his arm out got my stop and said you are potentially going to get arrested for assault.
‘I switched the engine off, took the keys out. I said “arrest me now, if you’re going to arrest me, arrest me now.”
‘He said “I don’t really want to do that now.” I said “why are you coming over then. You told me you can’t move them, I dispersed the protesters, now you’re telling me you’re going to arrest me.”
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police could not specifically identify the march involving Mr Kerr but he said that officers follow a general rule with protests.
‘We work to the law which does allow for some disruption by protesters. We must engage with those involved before moving to further police action,’ he said.
‘The rights of people to go about their everyday business must be balanced against those of protesters.
‘When protesters did not comply officers imposed conditions. If ignored these can result in arrest.’
Earlier today, another man who tore banners from Just Stop Oil zealots blocking traffic in London was confronted by police.
Today, police officers confronted another man (pictured in black, left) and told him to stop interfering with protesters
More than 60 activists from Just Stop Oil staged another protest as they took to the streets to hold up traffic once again in their new ‘slow-marching’ action.
It comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman launched a fresh attack on eco-zealots last night as she unveiled measures to tackle disruptive ‘slow marching’ tactics, which will enable police officers to remove protesters from the road.
Just Stop Oil confirmed that on the fifth day of demonstrations this week, 64 protesters took to the streets, adding: ‘We will step out again tomorrow, and again next week.’
After police ordered eco-zealots on to the pavement in Mile End, east London, this morning, a spokesman for Just Stop Oil said: ‘Slow marches are firmly within the law.
‘The question is what will the police do when this corrupt government tells them to arrest peaceful protesters for walking on a road or holding a banner? How far will the UK – police included – let Suella Braverman take this oppression?’
