Broadwater Farm riot
Encyclopedia
The Broadwater Farm riot
occurred around the Broadwater Farm
area of Tottenham
, North London
, on 6 October 1985.
The events of the day were dominated by two deaths. The first was that of Cynthia Jarrett, an African-Caribbean
woman who died the previous day from a stroke
during a police search of her home. It was one of the main triggers of the riot in a context where tension between local black youth and the largely white Metropolitan Police
was already high due to a combination of local issues and the aftermath of another riot
which had occurred in the Brixton
area of London the previous week following the shooting of a black woman during another police search. The second death was that of PC Keith Blakelock
, the first police officer since 1833 to be killed in a riot in Britain.
man, Floyd Jarrett, was arrested by police
, having been stopped in a vehicle with an allegedly suspicious tax disc
. Four police officers searched his home. In a disturbance between police and family members, his 49-year-old mother, Cynthia Jarrett, fell over and died almost instantly.
The local council leader, Bernie Grant
, later condemned the search and urged the local police chiefs to resign immediately as their behaviour had been "out of control".
Cynthia Jarrett's death sparked outrage from members of the black community against the Metropolitan Police
. There was a belief among some in the black community that the police were racist. A black woman, Cherry Groce, had been shot by police a week earlier in Brixton. Four years earlier the Scarman Report
into an earlier riot in Brixton
criticised police.
by a small crowd of people (source). Violence between police and youths escalated during the day. Riot police
tried to clear streets using baton charge
s. Youths were knocking on residents doors and attacking residents if they opened their doors, those that didn't open their doors had youths trying to break their doors down with axes, the idea was that the residents would ring the police and the youths would ambush them when they arrived, they attacked them by throwing bricks at them off the higher levels of the flats. The residents were left without help untill the following day.The black youths in the conflict attacked using bricks and petrol bomb
s. The evening TV news showed there were shots at the police, two officers, PC Stuart Patt, another unnamed officer, being treated for gunshot wounds. Three journalists (Press Association reporter Peter Woodman, BBC sound recordist Robin Green, and cameraman Keith Skinner) were also hit. Cars were set on fire and barricades made. There was looting
on the estate with police officers and rioters injured and dozens of rioters arrested.
came under attack as did the 'serial' of police, including Blakelock, who were there to assist. The rioting was too intense for police not trained in riot control and they and the firefighters withdrew, chased by rioters. Blakelock tripped, fell, and was surrounded by a mob with machete
s, knives
and other weapons, who killed him in an attempt to decapitate him. PC Richard Coombes suffered a serious facial injury from one of the attackers when he made efforts to rescue his colleague. The rioting tailed off during the night as rain fell and news of the death spread.
, then Leader of the Labour-controlled Haringey Council, later elected as Labour MP for Tottenham, was widely condemned for reportedly saying, "the police got a bloody good hiding", although the actual statement was "The youths around here believe the police were to blame for what happened on Sunday and what they got was a bloody good hiding."
The local council invested in the estate. Today, although there is still contention with the police, the area has improved.
Three adults, Winston Silcott
, Engin Raghip and Mark Braithwaite, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment
despite no witnesses and limited forensic evidence. The Tottenham Three are Innocent Campaign and the Broadwater Farm Defence Campaign pressed for a retrial. On 25 November 1991, all three defendants were cleared by the Court of Appeal when an ESDA test demonstrated police notes of interrogations (the only evidence) had been tampered with. Braithwaite and Raghip were released after four years in prison. Silcott remained in prison for the separate murder of another man, Tony Smith. He was released on licence in 2003 after serving eighteen years for that crime. The officer in charge of the interrogation was cleared of perjury
.
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
occurred around the Broadwater Farm
Broadwater Farm
Broadwater Farm, often referred to simply as "The Farm", is an area in Tottenham, North London, straddling the River Moselle. The eastern half of the area is dominated by the Broadwater Farm Estate , an experiment in high-density social housing built in the late 1960s...
area of Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, on 6 October 1985.
The events of the day were dominated by two deaths. The first was that of Cynthia Jarrett, an African-Caribbean
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
woman who died the previous day from a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
during a police search of her home. It was one of the main triggers of the riot in a context where tension between local black youth and the largely white Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
was already high due to a combination of local issues and the aftermath of another riot
Brixton riot (1985)
The Brixton riot of 1985 started on 28 September in Lambeth in South London.It was the second major riot that the area had witnessed in the space of four years....
which had occurred in the Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
area of London the previous week following the shooting of a black woman during another police search. The second death was that of PC Keith Blakelock
Keith Blakelock
The death of PC Keith Blakelock, an officer with the London Metropolitan Police, occurred on 6 October 1985 during rioting on the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham, north London...
, the first police officer since 1833 to be killed in a riot in Britain.
Death of Cynthia Jarrett
On 5 October 1985 a young blackBritish African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
man, Floyd Jarrett, was arrested by police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
, having been stopped in a vehicle with an allegedly suspicious tax disc
Vehicle excise duty
Vehicle Excise Duty is a vehicle road use tax levied as an excise duty which must be paid for most types of vehicle which are to be used on the public roads in the United Kingdom...
. Four police officers searched his home. In a disturbance between police and family members, his 49-year-old mother, Cynthia Jarrett, fell over and died almost instantly.
The local council leader, Bernie Grant
Bernie Grant
Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant , known simply as Bernie Grant, was a politician in the United Kingdom, and was Labour member of Parliament for Tottenham at the time of his death....
, later condemned the search and urged the local police chiefs to resign immediately as their behaviour had been "out of control".
Cynthia Jarrett's death sparked outrage from members of the black community against the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
. There was a belief among some in the black community that the police were racist. A black woman, Cherry Groce, had been shot by police a week earlier in Brixton. Four years earlier the Scarman Report
Scarman report
The Scarman report was commissioned by the UK Government following the 1981 Brixton riots. Lord Scarman was appointed by then Home Secretary William Whitelaw on 14 April 1981 to hold the enquiry into the riots...
into an earlier riot in Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
criticised police.
Day of disturbances
There was a demonstration the following day outside Tottenham police stationPolice station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
by a small crowd of people (source). Violence between police and youths escalated during the day. Riot police
Riot control
Riot control refers to the measures used by police, military, or other security forces to control, disperse, and arrest civilians who are involved in a riot, demonstration, or protest. Law enforcement officers or soldiers have long used non-lethal weapons such as batons and whips to disperse crowds...
tried to clear streets using baton charge
Baton charge
A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police or military during public order situations. In certain countries, police are not authorised to use the tactic unless no other means can be practiced....
s. Youths were knocking on residents doors and attacking residents if they opened their doors, those that didn't open their doors had youths trying to break their doors down with axes, the idea was that the residents would ring the police and the youths would ambush them when they arrived, they attacked them by throwing bricks at them off the higher levels of the flats. The residents were left without help untill the following day.The black youths in the conflict attacked using bricks and petrol bomb
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s. The evening TV news showed there were shots at the police, two officers, PC Stuart Patt, another unnamed officer, being treated for gunshot wounds. Three journalists (Press Association reporter Peter Woodman, BBC sound recordist Robin Green, and cameraman Keith Skinner) were also hit. Cars were set on fire and barricades made. There was looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
on the estate with police officers and rioters injured and dozens of rioters arrested.
Death of PC Blakelock
At 9.30pm Police and London Fire Brigade responded to reports of a fire on the elevated level of Tangmere House. This block consisted of a shopping level with flats and maisonettes above, the location itself was some distance away from the main body of rioting and as such was being policed by units who were less well equipped and prepared in terms of disorder training. The London Fire BrigadeLondon Fire Brigade
The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for London.Founded in 1865, it is the largest of the fire services in the United Kingdom and the fourth-largest in the world with nearly 7,000 staff, including 5,800 operational firefighters based in 112 fire...
came under attack as did the 'serial' of police, including Blakelock, who were there to assist. The rioting was too intense for police not trained in riot control and they and the firefighters withdrew, chased by rioters. Blakelock tripped, fell, and was surrounded by a mob with machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
s, knives
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
and other weapons, who killed him in an attempt to decapitate him. PC Richard Coombes suffered a serious facial injury from one of the attackers when he made efforts to rescue his colleague. The rioting tailed off during the night as rain fell and news of the death spread.
Aftermath
Police maintained a substantial presence on the estate for several months, arresting and questioning 400 people. The disturbances led to changes in police tactics and equipment, and efforts to re-engage with the community. Bernie GrantBernie Grant
Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant , known simply as Bernie Grant, was a politician in the United Kingdom, and was Labour member of Parliament for Tottenham at the time of his death....
, then Leader of the Labour-controlled Haringey Council, later elected as Labour MP for Tottenham, was widely condemned for reportedly saying, "the police got a bloody good hiding", although the actual statement was "The youths around here believe the police were to blame for what happened on Sunday and what they got was a bloody good hiding."
The local council invested in the estate. Today, although there is still contention with the police, the area has improved.
Trials
Six people (three juveniles and three adults) were charged with the murder of Blakelock. The juveniles all had their cases dismissed after the judge ruled the conditions in which they had been held were so inappropriate that their interrogation was inadmissible - conditions included being questioned naked except for a blanket, and being questioned without a guardian.Three adults, Winston Silcott
Winston Silcott
Winston Silcott is a British man of Afro-Caribbean descent, who, as one of the "Tottenham Three", was convicted in March 1987 for the murder of PC Keith Blakelock on the night of 6 October 1985 during the Broadwater Farm riot in north London...
, Engin Raghip and Mark Braithwaite, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
despite no witnesses and limited forensic evidence. The Tottenham Three are Innocent Campaign and the Broadwater Farm Defence Campaign pressed for a retrial. On 25 November 1991, all three defendants were cleared by the Court of Appeal when an ESDA test demonstrated police notes of interrogations (the only evidence) had been tampered with. Braithwaite and Raghip were released after four years in prison. Silcott remained in prison for the separate murder of another man, Tony Smith. He was released on licence in 2003 after serving eighteen years for that crime. The officer in charge of the interrogation was cleared of perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
.