Broadwater Farm riot
The Broadwater Farm riot occurred on the Broadwater council estate in 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 Afro-Caribbean woman who died the previous day due to heart failure during a police search at her home. It was one of the main triggers of the riot, in a context where tensions between local black youth and the largely white Metropolitan Police were already high, due to a combination of local issues and the aftermath of the 1985 Brixton riot which had occurred the previous week, following the shooting of a black woman, Cherry Groce, during another police search.[1][2][3][4] The second death was the murder of Keith Blakelock, the third police officer since 1833 to be killed in a riot in Britain.[5][6][7]
Day of disturbances[edit]
There was a demonstration the following day outside Tottenham police station by a small crowd of people.[11] Violence between police and youths escalated during the day. Riot police tried to clear streets using baton charges. The youths in the conflict used bricks and Molotov cocktails, resulting in many injuries as well as extensive damage to property and vehicles.
The evening TV news claimed there were shots at the police, with two officers, PC Stuart Patt, and 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 claimed to have been hit. Cars were set on fire and barricades made, while one house on the edge of the estate was severely damaged by fire. The main conflict took place at the centre of the estate itself, with police officers and rioters injured, and dozens of people arrested.
Aftermath[edit]
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 Grant, 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 youth think they gave the police a bloody good hiding").[12]
Afterwards, the local council invested in the estate to improve some of the problems which were seen as factors in the rioting. By 2016, and although there is reportedly still contention with the police, the area has improved.
The riot prompted the Metropolitan Police to devise the Gold-silver-bronze command structure for responding to sudden major incidents. Among the difficulties with the police response was that orders had to be communicated through numerous ranks, and it was never clear who was in operational charge.
Trials[edit]
Six people (three juveniles and three adults) were charged with the murder of PC 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.[13]
In March 1987, three local men, Winston Silcott, Engin Raghip and Mark Braithwaite, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, despite no witnesses and no forensic evidence.[13] 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.[9] Braithwaite and Raghip were released after four years in prison. Silcott remained in prison for the separate murder of another man, Tony Smith, which occurred in December 1984 in the Tottenham area, and for which he was convicted in February 1986. He was released on licence in October 2003 after serving 18 years in prison, a 14-year recommended minimum having been issued by the trial judge.
The officer in charge of the interrogation of Silcott and the other two men was cleared of perjury. In July 2013, Nicholas Jacobs was charged with the murder of PC Blakelock. Four other men arrested at the same time were not charged.[14] On 9 April 2014, Jacobs was cleared of all charges.[15]
Inquest[edit]
At the inquest into the death of Cynthia Jarrett her daughter, Patricia, told the court that her mother had been pushed over by Detective Constable Michael Randle, which he denied. The inquest found that Jarrett had died accidentally. No police officers were charged or disciplined for her death.
The Broadwater Farm Inquiry[edit]
Anthony Gifford, 6th Baron Gifford chaired a six-person panel for the Haringey London Borough Council, beginning in February 1986 and concluding in July 1986, called The Broadwater Farm Inquiry.[19] The Gifford report was published in July 1986.[20][21][22] Second Report of the Independent Inquiry into the disturbances of October 1985 at the Broadwater Farm Estate, Totthenham, chaired by Gifford was also published.[23]