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Fourteen police injured in London clashes over man's death Fourteen police injured in London clashes over man's death
(about 1 hour later)
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. Fourteen police officers were injured and five people injured as a day of peaceful protests over the death of a man against whom police are said to have used force and CS spray ended in clashes on Sunday 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. Police condemned the violence that occurred after dark in east London and left four officers needing hospital treatment. Earlier in the day, demonstrators had gathered to demand justice over the death of Edir Frederico Da Costa.
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. “Behaviour such as that seen overnight will not be tolerated and an investigation will begin to identify those individuals who targeted our officers,” said the Newham borough commander, Ian Larnder.
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. “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.”
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. Demonstrators were angry at the treatment of Da Costa, a 25-year-old mechanic and father to a toddler, who was one of three people in a car Met police officers stopped on 15 June.
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. Scotland Yard initially said he became unwell and had swallowed a large quantity of drugs, but the police watchdog later said they believed officers used force and CS spray during the arrest. Da Costa, known to friends as Edson, died six days later.
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. His family have said they believe he suffered extensive injuries, but the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said a preliminary postmortem contradicted that.
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.” Many of the protesters highlighted the allegation that Da Costa was “brutally beaten” by police and aligned his case with other high profile deaths of black people after contact with the police.
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. The demonstration started on Sunday afternoon at Forest Gate police station, near the scene of the arrest, and protesters marched peacefully from there to nearby Stratford, before returning to the station later in the evening, when they held a minute’s silence in Da Costa’s memory.
Two males who were arrested remain in custody. The other three have been released while investigations continue. Later, however, police said that some members of the crowd, “many of whom had not been involved in the original protest”, threw bricks, bottles and fireworks at officers. Some small fires were also lit, though they were quickly put out.
Family campaigners insisted that the event had been set up as a peaceful march and that they did not condone the violence. Officers said a small section of the crowd remained until the early hours of Monday and continued to throw missiles at police.
“Fourteen officers received injuries, four of whom were taken to hospital for medical treatment. These include a male police sergeant who was knocked unconscious after an object struck his helmet, as well as officers with neck, leg and wrist injuries. All four officers have since been discharged.
“A police vehicle that was responding to a separate incident was damaged after it was targeted by protesters.” Police added that they did not believe any members of the public were injured, nor was there any significant damage to property.
The five people detained were all male. Two men aged 26 and 22 and a 16-year-old were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. Two men aged 19 and 26 were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, with the former also arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. Two of the five remained in police custody on Monday. The others were released pending further investigation.