1985 Brixton riot and Shooting of Cherry Groce

28–30 September 1985

Police raid and shooting of Cherry Groce

Raid on Cherry Groce's house[edit]

On the morning of Saturday 28 September 1985, a group of police officers raided Cherry Groce's house on Normandy Road, Brixton, including an armed CID officer, searching for suspected armed robber Michael Groce.[1] Mrs Groce was in bed, whilst three of her six children were in residence when the police entered the house with force. During the raid, Mrs Groce was shot and seriously injured; after an extensive search, the police did not find Michael Groce. An ambulance was called, and by the time it had arrived a small crowd had gathered outside the house. Mrs Groce was taken to St Thomas' Hospital in central London.[1]

Aftermath[edit]

Cherry Groce[edit]

On her arrival at hospital, surgeons found that the bullet had penetrated Mrs Groce's lung and exited through her spine, paralysing her from the waist downwards.[7] She was hospitalised for over a year, and in hospital-based rehabilitation for a further year; friends within the local community looked after her children. With Mrs Groce permanently paralysed and only able to get around in a wheelchair, and after further rehabilitation, she and her family were allocated a new bungalow in which to live.[1][7]


The police officer who shot Mrs Groce, Detective Inspector Douglas Lovelock, was prosecuted but eventually acquitted of malicious wounding.[13] Mrs Groce later received over £500,000 in compensation from the Metropolitan Police, but with no admission of liability.[14]


In 2011, Mrs Groce contracted an infection which led to kidney failure.[7] She was treated at King's College Hospital, but she died on Easter Sunday, and was buried in May 2011.[7][15]


In 2012 a blue plaque was installed at Cherry Groce's former home at 22 Normandy Road.[16]

The 1986 song "Suburbia", telling a story of boredom and (fictional) riots in suburbia, was partially influenced by the Brixton riots of 1981 and 1985, the latter of which was in recent memory when the single was released.

Pet Shop Boys

The 1987 film opens with an incident very similar to the Groce shooting.

Sammy and Rosie Get Laid

The episode I Predict A Riot, first aired 26 March 2014, is about a fictional black undercover policeman who went missing during the 1985 Brixton riot.

Law & Order: UK

The first episode of the three part series (May 2013) is set during the riot and uses the riot as a backdrop for a critical plot element.

Life of Crime

1981 Brixton riot

1995 Brixton riot

Broadwater Farm riot

Eleanor Bumpurs

""

The Guns of Brixton

Urban riots

BBC News Online –

1985: Riots in Brixton after police shooting

BBC News Online –

1987: Officer cleared in Groce shooting case

Guardian Archives: Riots in Brixton After Police Shooting