Eventually a chief inspector came out and spoke to Duggan's relatives but, organisers said, he conceded a higher-ranking officer should talk to them.
Stafford Scott, a community organiser, said police were "absolutely" culpable for not responding to their requests for dialogue. We couldn't guarantee it wouldn't get out of control. Scott said the chief inspector promised a higher ranking official would speak to the crowd. When no one came, organisers said some younger men turned their anger to two police cars, which were set on fire. Duggan's relatives are said to have left the area when the rioting began. His brother, Shaun Hall, distanced the family from the Saturday night disturbances.
He said there may have been a "domino effect" from the unanswered questions surrounding his brother's death, but said the family "don't condone at all" violence perpetrated in his name. Others present said the spark for the rioting was a specific incident involving a year-old woman, who stepped forward to confront police around 8. Laurence Bailey, who was in a nearby church, described seeing the girl throw a leaflet and what may have been a stone at police.
Bailey said the girl was then "pounded by 15 riot shields". In some ways, the truth about the alleged incident involving the year-old did not matter; the rumour that police had attacked a girl was incendiary enough. In a YouTube clip showing burning police cars and violent pitched battles more than an hour later, a rioter can be heard goading others: "Didn't you see the girl getting roughed by the Feds, man?
Come on. By 11pm, a double-decker bus had been set alight, and shops — mostly local businesses — along the high road broken into. Throughout the nearby estates and terraced streets, teenagers walked brazenly with stolen TVs, stereos, mobile phones and food. The make-up of the rioters was racially mixed.
Most were men or boys, some apparently as young as But families and other local residents representative of the area — black, Asian and white, including some from Tottenham's Hasidic Jewish community — also gathered to watch and jeer at police. Some took defensive action; the owners of a Turkish supermarket stacked crates of bottled water in front of his store to prevent break-ins.
A building containing a florist was set on fire, as was the Prince of Wales pub. Police, some on horseback, began to gain control of a metre stretch of the high road by around midnight, allowing fire-engines to tackle the raging fires. The rioters, however, simply dispersed into back streets or moved further north, where they pillaged an Aldi supermarket before setting it on fire. The blaze, along with a fire that engulfed a branch of Carpetright, lit up the sky.
Fuck the police," said Reeko Young, 24, who had gathered with friends on a nearby side street to share images of the riots on mobile phones. Young said he was not taking part in the violence, but like many had been enraged by the rumours circulating about Duggan's death.
He showed one of several BlackBerry "BB" messages being disseminated, suggesting Duggan had been shot in the face at point-blank range. As Mr Smith echoed, the disturbances were also underpinned by a growing sense of frustration among Black communities around policing tactics namely stop and search tactics which disproportionately targeted Black men.
This was cited as a major source of discontent and many reported that these searches were often heavy-handed; figures at the time showed only about 10 per cent of more than a million searches led to an arrest. In the wake of the unrest, the then-government commissioned a Riots Communities and Victims Panel to investigate key issues around the event.
Among other things, it recommended the Met improve their relationships with Black communities. But little has changed. Smiley Culture died from a single knife wound to the heart during a police raid on his Surrey home in March , ruled as suicide at an inquest. For example, reggae artist Smiley Culture died from a single knife wound to the heart during a police raid on his Surrey home in March of the same year.
Over the ten years since then, more Black men have died in police custody including Dalian Atkinson, Kevin Clarke and Simeon Francis; fresh data from the Independent Office for Police Conduct IOPC said Black people are three times more likely to die following police contact than their percentage of the population.
Just weeks ago, the United Nations published a report which highlighted that in the UK, and globally, Black people have borne the brunt of racist state violence. It is the view of the Network for Police Monitoring Netpol that conditions have worsened to some degree since the riots of As soon as the police get new powers, they abuse them.
In this context, the new powers in this bill look like a powder keg. It is fatal. A gun is found about seven metres from where Mr Duggan was shot. It had not been fired. The Independent Police Complaints Commission IPCC later announces it "may have given misleading information to journalists to the effect that shots were exchanged" between Mr Duggan and the police. Members of Mr Duggan's family formally identify his body.
The news of his death filters through to those who knew him. The Metropolitan Police did not adequately inform Mr Duggan's family of his death, nor did it provide appropriate support or keep them up to date with the case, the IPCC went on to find in The people who have gathered outside Tottenham police station have been waiting for nearly five hours when they learn that no officers are available to address their concerns.
The nature of the demonstration changes from peaceful to charged. Bottles are thrown at patrol cars. One is set alight; another is pushed into the middle of the road before it too is torched.
Groups of people are arriving in Tottenham from other areas of London. More police are called in. They had control at that point and a lot of them knew that.
As we exited the car park, the van was getting constantly pelted. We're not. Back at home, my wife and my kids were scared. Straight to the combat zone. There was a lot of anger and frustration in the air.
We're used to being stopped by the police. But it's like they've taken foul play to a whole new level. Riot police and officers on horseback are sent in to disperse the crowds. They come under attack from people throwing bottles, fireworks and other missiles. A couple of hours later, a double-decker bus is burnt out. Shops are set on fire. Looting begins. Without the manpower to make mass arrests, the police priority is to disperse the rioters to let fire engines reach burning buildings.
Word of the violence spreads and attracts more people to the scene, including those who were just curious. We were like nurses because all the wounded were coming to us. I saw guys with their hands sliced open, skin hanging off. They have no right to go and kill no-one.
The noise then started to increase dramatically. Communication became much more challenging purely because of the noise. It was almost impossible to hear the radios.
And I also saw what appeared to be machetes being dangled down by the side of their legs. Police condemn a wave of "copycat criminal activity" breaking out in London. That afternoon, police announce there will be an investigation. As dusk falls, violence bubbles up again. Police are called to Enfield, Brixton and the Oxford Circus area. Riot and mounted officers patrol the streets. I walked up there, saw about five youths, all faces covered up. They set a wheelie bin on fire and threw it into the riot police.
They came from other parts and said: 'Today, we are putting down the postcode war. Today we're here to help you. And they stood united together on the frontline, pelting the police. And that was really, really nice. Looting quickly becomes a driving force behind the unrest. The first shops targeted are clothes shops and shops with high-value electrical goods.
So, someone dashed a stone at a Maplin's window. It was like, 'I'm going to get four TVs - well, I'm going to get five. Everyone had the strength. We had the power. You've got what you've got, you're going to have to try to hold the street. In fact, he said to me, 'are you joking? Tottenham Hale retail park is being smashed and sacked. Looters run down the road carrying plasma televisions. Brixton's Effra Road retail park is under a similar onslaught. I went in one of the shops took a load of cigarettes, and actually gave it away to an old woman.
People wanted to hurt us really, really bad. Like it was just a normal day. Everyone was doing it and no-one was getting caught. They were just filling up and walking out. So I'm thinking, 'these are just old people and they're still robbing'.
Firefighters are called to Enfield, Brixton and Walthamstow. Do what we have to do. Cause mayhem. It felt like we were on a leash for years and we've come off that leash.
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