Broadwater Farm riot

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The Broadwater Farm riot occurred in and around the Broadwater Farm area of Tottenham London on 6 October 1985. Substantial damage was caused and a police officer, PC Keith Blakelock, was murdered.

1 Origins and death of Cynthia Jarrett
2 Day of disturbances
3 Death of PC Blakelock
4 Aftermath
5 Trials
6 Inquest
7 References

[edit] Origins and death of Cynthia Jarrett

On 5 October 1985 a young black man, Floyd Jarrett, was arrested by police having been stopped in a vehicle with an allegedly suspicious tax disc. Four police officers subsequently attended his home to conduct a search. In a disturbance between police and family members his mother, Cynthia Jarrett, died of a heart attack.

Her death, seemingly at the hands of police, sparked local outrage against the Metropolitan Police who were the subject of widespread distrust in the local black community. This distrust stemmed from many factors, the primary one being what the 1998 Stephen Lawrence Enquiry identified as 'Institutional Racism' - a judgement accepted by the organisation. Only a week before there had been rioting in Brixton when a black woman, Cherry Groce was accidentally shot by police. Four years earlier the publication of the Scarman Report into an earlier riot in Brixton had criticised police. The local council leader, Bernie Grant issued a statement condemning the police search. The area suffered from high unemployment, high crime and poor housing.

[edit] Day of disturbances

The following day saw a demonstration outside Tottenham police station by local people. Outbreaks of violence between police and local youths occurred sporadically during the day and escalated, leading to the deployment of riot police who repeatedly attempted to clear the streets using baton charges. However, the youths involved in the fighting quickly organised themselves and resisted the police using bricks and petrol bombs. Later, police also alleged that there had been one or two gunshots directed at them, although nobody was ever charged or convicted of discharging a firearm, nor was any corroborating evidence of such an incident made public. There are unsubstantiated claims that two unnamed police officers were treated in hospital for gunshot wounds. Three journalists (Press Association reporter Peter Woodman, BBC sound recordist Robin Green, and cameraman Keith Skinner) were also said to have been treated after being hit by gunfire. However, it is unclear whether these injuries were ever actually recorded as gun-crimes. [1] Cars were set on fire and barricades made. There was widespread looting with many police officers and local people being injured, and dozens of residents being arrested.

[edit] Death of PC Blakelock

At about 9.30 p.m. a fire broke out on the first floor of one of the estate's tower blocks. Firefighters trying to put it out came under attack and a group of police, including PC Blakelock, went to assist them. The rioting in that area was too intense for the group of police, who were not trained riot police, and they and the firefighters withdrew. PC Blakelock tripped, fell, and was surrounded by a mob who attacked him with machetes, knives and other weapons, hacking him to death.

The rioting tailed off during the night as rain fell and news of the death spread.

[edit] Aftermath

Police maintained a substantial presence on the estate for several months afterwards, arresting and interrogating over 400 people in pursuit of PC Blakelock's killers.

The disturbances also led to several changes in police tactics and equipment, and efforts were made to re-engage with the community. Council leader Bernie Grant was widely condemned for saying, "What the police got was a bloody good hiding." The local council invested considerable resources into the estate. Today, although there are still issues of contention with the police, the area is considered to have improved markedly.

[edit] Trials

Six people were charged with the murder of PC Blakelock. The three juveniles had their cases dismissed by the judge after he ruled that the conditions in which they had been held were so inappropriate that they rendered evidence obtained during their interrogation inadmissible - (such conditions included being questioned whilst naked except for a blanket, and being questioned without an appropriate guardian in attendance).

The three adults, Winston Silcott, Engin Raghip and Mark Braithwaite, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment - despite there being no witness accounts or forensic evidence linking them to the murder. As a result, campaigners led by the 'Tottenham Three are Innocent Campaign' and the 'Broadwater Farm Defence Campaign' had serious doubts about the convictions and continued to press for a retrial.

Three years later all three defendants were found not guilty by the Court of Appeal and freed when an ESDA test demonstrated that police notes of their interrogations (which were the only evidence) had been tampered with. The defendants had spent 4 years in prison.

The officer in charge of their interrogation was later cleared of perjury.

[edit] Inquest

The Coroner's Inquest into the death of Cynthia Jarrett heard from her daughter, Patricia, that she had been pushed over by Detective Constable Michael Randle which he denied. Unsually, in the case of a heart attack victim, the inquest found that Cynthia had died an 'Accidental Death' - suggesting that the jury found that something other than natural causes had led to her demise. No police officers were ever charged or disciplined for the death of Cynthia Jarrett.