Spanish cops hire strippers for protest

Madrid: Spanish police came up with a novel way to complain about ‘deplorable' working conditions - they hired strippers.

Some 200 local police officers protested to complain about a lack of vehicles and equipment in Valencia, eastern Spain.

They said that they were forced to use 30-year-old pistols, their bullet-proof vests were out-of-date and safety equipment for motorbike police was lacking. They also said that their uniforms were old and that they needed new ones.

Strippers were hired to wear underwear and union T-shirts, in an effort to display the force's lack of new apparel.

The protest was organised after four officers were injured in a traffic accident, when the 17-year-old police van they were driving had brake trouble.

The Town Hall in Valencia says it wasn't the old vehicle that was the problem - it was an error by the driver.
A Valencia official told reporters that the police department has "everything it needs to carry out its duty."