‘Heavy handed’ police accused after swoop provokes riot

The unrest was sparked when about 160 officers in full riot gear swooped on a house in Bristol to arrest four people on Thursday night they said were “a real threat to the local community”.

Eight officers were injured in the disturbance, which continued into yesterday morning in what eyewitnesses described as running battles with hundreds of protesters.

A heavy police presence remained in the area yesterday, including riot vans, following the clashes in which cobbles were dug up from the road to be thrown at officers and a nearby branch of Tesco was petrol-bombed.

The supermarket opened a week ago despite some opposition in the local Stokes Croft neighbourhood, which includes a number of squats and a few chain stores.

Barman Jessie Webb at The Croft pub said officers were “heavy-handed” towards a crowd which initially just turned up to watch the police operation.

He said: “The police caused it (the riot). They turned up in large numbers and it attracted a crowd. Then they charged into them.”

A 22-year-old man at the scene, who did not want to be named, said he was hit with a baton despite not being involved in the protest.

“I saw them (police) hitting people who were definitely not involved in the violence,” he said. “They were doing random charges and cracking people indiscriminately.”

But Avon and Somerset Constabulary said the actions they took during the “robust operation” were fully justified.

The trouble erupted after the officers descended on the property in Cheltenham Road at about 9.15pm on Thursday.

Defending the operation, Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said: “Residents have called us to several incidents in the property over the past few days.

“Yesterday there was a very real threat to the local community from the petrol bombs that were being made and we needed to take positive action.

“The safety of the public is paramount in any situation of this kind and we took the decision to carry out a swift arrest operation, following intelligence received about the criminal intentions of those who were occupying the building.

“The fact that we seized petrol bombs illustrates the seriousness of this situation and the reason why we took this positive action.”

Some 300 people had congregated however, a minority of whom started small fires and began throwing bottles, stones and other items at officers, he said.

The riot was brought under control at around 4am yesterday.

Three people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences and another person on suspicion of threats to cause criminal damage with intent to endanger life.

Primary school teacher Nick Jones, who watched the scene unfold, said what started as a peaceful protest quickly turned ugly.

Gangs from other parts of Bristol may have joined in, he suggested.

“People came from different areas, hearing what was going on. It turned into a running battle up and down the street for two hours.

“Between 2.30am and 4.30am there were bottles thrown and rocks. I saw a police officer get hit in the face and go down – he was taken away in an ambulance.”

The branch of Tesco was closed yesterday while the damage was assessed.

A spokesman for the chain said: “We strongly condemn the violence in Stokes Croft and the injuries caused to the members of the police who worked courageously to protect the public and businesses in the area, including ours.

“We will work hard to reopen as soon as possible to continue providing a service to Stokes Croft.”