South Yorkshire along with West Midlands are the worst football police i've come across on my travels with County. I remember on two different visits to Rotherham's old millmoor ground being disgusted with the policing. One incident involved us coming out of the ground & being involved in a slight crush in that passageway that used to run down one side of their ground, there was no trouble, people just wanted to exit but the police kept pushing us back, there was a lad in a wheelchair amongst the throng, people were trying to protect him & were telling the police he was there but they didn't care, a mounted police officer then backed his horse into the crowd & the lad was tipped out of his wheelchair. The other occasion involved a group of us being rounded up upon exiting the ground & marched to a piece of waste ground nearby, we were told to remain there whilst a group of locals were allowed to throw stones & bricks at us unhindered, much to the delight of the coppers, both incidents were antagonistic without reason.
I had the misfortune to get arrested at Birmingham once, whilst i hadn't actually done anything i accept that i was travelling with a group who had caused a disturbance outside Birmingham's pub so i was guilty by association, that i hold my hands up to. I had a bottle of beer in my hand which i was drinking but i do accept that it wasn't a wise idea to have a bottle on the street in that situation, however when the police arrived i was targeted by a baton happy copper, as the copper approached i put the bottle on the floor (without it smashing) raised my hands passively & explained to the approaching copper that it wasn't a weapon i was just drinking it, despite being away from the main area of disturbance & not actually engaging in any wrong doing (apart from being an idiot & drinking on the street!) I was beaten with the baton, arrested, thrown face down on the floor of the van, stamped on, & punched by more than one copper in the van. Another County fan was thrown in the van & he too was set upon, they broke his arm with their batons. I went to court & i think the magistrate must of seen the incredularity on my face when the arresting officers statement was read out, it was the biggest pack of lies i've ever heard, According to him i threw the bottle at a family with a baby in a pram who were walking in a park nearby! The statement said it was a serious disturbance involving over 100 people, yet they only arrested 2 lads from Stockport & 1 from Birmingham, whilst in the holding cell under the stadium the local police came in had a chat & laugh with the Birmingham lad & released him at half time. As i said The magistrate must of seen the shock on my face & realised the coppers statement was bullshit & both i the other County lad walked out of court with no punishment.
I am far from anti-police, 99% of them are bloody heroes who do a very difficult job & do it well most of the time, unfortunately there's 1% of them who seem to revel in creating disorder rather than preventing it with common sense.