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Fourteen police injured in London clashes over man's death | Fourteen police injured in London clashes over man's death |
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Fourteen police officers have been injured, including four taken to hospital, during clashes that followed a protest in London over the death of a man after a traffic stop. Five people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, arson and criminal damage in connection with the incident, which began on Sunday evening and went on into the night. | |
A male police sergeant was knocked unconscious after an object struck his helmet, while a female officer sustained head injuries as individuals threw objects including bottles, bricks and fireworks towards police and started fires at the scene in Forest Gate, east London, Scotland Yard said. | A male police sergeant was knocked unconscious after an object struck his helmet, while a female officer sustained head injuries as individuals threw objects including bottles, bricks and fireworks towards police and started fires at the scene in Forest Gate, east London, Scotland Yard said. |
Earlier, crowds had joined a march demanding justice for Edir Frederico Da Costa, 25, who died on 21 June. He had been stopped in a car by Metropolitan police officers in the borough of Newham, east London, six days earlier. Campaigners claim Da Costa’s neck was broken and he was “brutally beaten” after the car, containing three people, was stopped in Woodcocks, Beckton. | |
But the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating, said a preliminary postmortem examination last Thursday indicated that there were no spinal injuries caused by police. | |
Protesters, some carrying Black Lives Matter posters and others with homemade placards that read “Justice for Edson + How Many More???”, marched from Forest Gate to Stratford on Sunday. | Protesters, some carrying Black Lives Matter posters and others with homemade placards that read “Justice for Edson + How Many More???”, marched from Forest Gate to Stratford on Sunday. |
The protest had started off peacefully, with Borough Commander Superintendent Ian Larnder trying to calm tensions as he addressed the crowd, telling them: “I am here because I care deeply about what is going on.” But a flurry of angry comments such as “You are protecting them” were hurled at him as he was pressed about alleged police brutality. | |
Tempers flared as the skies darkened and riot police wearing helmets and carrying shields pressed forward in a line from the police station at around 9.35pm. Bricks were ripped from a wall and thrown at officers while firefighters, protected by police, hosed out fires that had been started in bins. | |
Larnder said afterwards: “Whilst we will always support the right for lawful protest, the events of last night cannot be justified. Not only were our officers confronted by violence, with several of them being injured, but local residents were severely disrupted. Behaviour such as that seen overnight will not be tolerated and an investigation will begin to identify those individuals who targeted our officers.” | |
Police said they had no reports of any members of the public being injured or of any significant damage to property. All four officers who were taken to hospital have since been discharged. | |
Two males who were arrested remain in custody. The other three have been released while investigations continue. | Two males who were arrested remain in custody. The other three have been released while investigations continue. |
Family campaigners insisted that the event had been set up as a peaceful march and that they did not condone the violence. |