Car set on fire (Pic: FR Pix)
Violent riots started in Tottenham area of north London yesterday. Rioters attacked Tottenham police station. Two police cars, a London bus and buildings were set on fire with petrol bombs. 26 police officers were injured, two police officers were hospitalized and 42 people were arrested for 'violent disorder, burglary and theft'. Some shops were vandalized and some demonstrators went on a looting spree. The looting spread to the shopping centre and retail park.
Cause of Riots
A father of four children, Mark Duggan, 29, was allegedly shot twice by the police last Thursday. The shooting led to Duggan’s death. He was said to be a well known man in the neighbourhood. The masses do not believe that Duggan fired the first shot before he was shot by the police, as he was about to be arrested.
According to Sky News, the youths demanded that the police should speak to them on Duggan’s death. The police did not speak with them but the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating the incident. The youths became very angry, took the law into their own hands and what was a planned 'peaceful' demonstration led to a riot.
‘Danger’
On Sky News, journalist David Akinsanya said the youths were communicating with one another in different parts of London on mobile phones regardless of past grievances. It could lead to more riots if care is not taken. Akinsanya left the scene last night when he felt that he was no longer safe after filming the riot. Some photographers were beaten up by rioters.
Police Advisers
The Metropolitan Police should liaise with people in Black communities that would be neutral and act as mediators or peacemakers when situations like this arise. If the youths had someone to converse with at the right time, could the riots have been averted with a dialogue? The police should not hesitate to hire people that are well grounded or understand the problems of specific communities as advisers.
London Riots in Black Communities (1981 – 2011)
The 1981 Brixton riot aka Bloody Saturday was based on the economic hardship of the Black community during the recession. The 1985 Peckham riot was based on 'racial discrimination'. The Broadwater Farm riot occurred in 1985 after a Black woman, Cynthia Jarrett 'fell over and died almost instantly' during a police search in Tottenham. It was a week after the Brixton riot of 28 September 1985; which was caused by the police shooting of Dorothy 'Cherry' Groce during a search. Another Brixton riot (13 December 1985) occurred after Wayne Douglas, 26, died in police custody. The 2011 Tottenham riot happened yesterday.
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