Sunday, August 7, 2011 Riots inTottenham north London
"Fire in Babylon," wrote The Voice. Two police cars and a bus were set alight in Tottenham north London yesterday (Aug 6) after a protest, which followed the killing of a 29-year-old man who was gunned down by police earlier this week, turned nasty.Members of the community in Tottenham, north London, gathered outside Tottenham police station calling for answers into the killing of Mark Duggan on Thursday night (Aug 4).
The father of five received two fatal bullet wounds in a pre-planned operation to arrest him.
The sting had been organised in partnership with Trident, the Met’s special unit for investigating gun crime within the black community.“It was like fire in Babylon,” one protestor told The Voice. Read the full story here.
But the North London community of Tottenham is not only worried about fysical damage. The cost of the damage is likely to run into the millions, but the cost to the reputation of the area will be much greater.
For Haringey Council and others trying to bring investment into the area, the PR damage done to Tottenham is going to extensive and long lasting.
Local MP David Lammy this morning issued a statement saying: 'The scenes currently taking place in our community are not representative of the vast majority of people in Tottenham. Those who remember the destructive conflicts of the past will be determined not to go back to them.' Read the full story here.
Raw footage of the mood in the streets
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A GUNMAN killed in a shootout with police had texted his girlfriend minutes earlier to say: "The feds are following me."
Suspected gangster Mark Duggan, 29, fired a handgun at an armed cop, whose life was saved when the bullet hit his radio.
The officer returned fire with his Heckler & Koch MP5 sub-machine gun - blasting dad-of-five Duggan twice in the face before slumping to the ground.
Duggan, known by the street name Starrish Mark, was a so-called gangsta member of North London's Tottenham Man Dem gang, which has links to Jamaica's ruthless Yardies.
Cops from the Met Police Operation Trident, which tackles gun crime in London's black community, had him under surveillance amid fears he was about to avenge the killing of his rapper cousin Kevin Easton, 23.
Easton, who performed as Smegz, was stabbed to death in front of clubbers in Mile End, East London, in March. Three men aged 23 to 27 are on bail.
Semone Wilson, 29, mother of three of Duggan's children, was devastated by his death near Tottenham Hale Tube station on Thursday evening.
She said yesterday: "He was in a cab. I spoke to him at about 5pm and he asked me if I'd cook dinner. He said he spotted a police car following him.
"He sent a message on his Blackberry saying 'The Feds (police) are following me'.
"And that's it, that's the last time anyone heard from him. By 6.15 he had been gunned down. I kept phoning and phoning to find out where he was. He wasn't answering.
"I rushed down to where it happened. They let me through the police lines but they wouldn't let me see his body."
A photo emerged yesterday of Duggan making a gangsta gun pose with his fingers.
But Semone added: "He was a good dad. I had absolutely no idea he was up to no good. Mark was known to police but he had never been sent down."
His mum Pamela, 52, said: "Mark was my baby. He was a kind boy. He would have been 30 next month. It's a wicked world when a boy doesn't live to see such a milestone."
The shot officer went home after hospital treatment. The Independent Police Complaints Commission was investigating last night. A spokesman said shooting began as cops tried to make an arrest.
>via: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3736694/Gunman-killed-in-shootout-with-cops-had-texted-girlfriend-to-say-The-feds-are-following-me.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News
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"We are here today because we want answers for the family, for Mark Duggan. We have been given no answers, the family haven't been told anything as to why Mark Duggan was shot on Thursday," said one demonstrator.
"The police have not had the courtesy to come to the family, the decency or respect to tell them what is going on. And that is what we want: answers, justice. And we are going to be here everyday until we get answers," she added.
The demonstration became violent as darkness fell with two police cars and a double decker bus set on fire.
>via: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/8687058/Protest-which-sparked-Tottenham-riot.html
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In Pictures:
London's burning
Hundreds of angry protesters gathered near Tottenham police station in north London on Saturday evening demanding justice for the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man during an apparent exchange of gunfire with police officers on Thursday. As riot police were brought into the area, crowds torched two patrol cars, a bus and a shop outside the police station on the High Road in Tottenham, smashing up shop windows.
In 1985, similar protests and subsequent riots happened in Tottenham after a woman died during a police search of her home.
1) Police officers wearing riot gear stand in a street in Tottenham, north London [Stefan Wermuth/Reuters]
2) A double decker bus burns as riot police try to contain a large group of people [Leon Neal/AFP]
3) A shop and police car burn in Tottenham [Leon Neal/AFP]
4) A man stands in front of police officers wearing riot gear in Tottenham [Stefan Wermuth/Reuters]
5) A shop burns on a main road in Tottenham [Leon Neal/AFP]
6) A woman walks through the debris with two children on a main road in Tottenham [Leon Neal/AFP]
7) A damaged travel agency in Tottenham [Stefan Wermuth/Reuters]
8) An advertising poster for a bookmaker is seen through smashed glass on High Road in Tottenham the day after protests [Leon Neal/AFP]
9) Police gather outside a damaged branch of Barclays bank on High Road in Tottenham [Leon Neal/AFP]
10) Local residents discuss the previous night's events as they stand next to a destroyed shop on High Road in Tottenham [Leon Neal/AFP]
11) A boy cycles past a burnt-out police car on High Road in Tottenham [Leon Neal/AFP]
12) Firefighters spray the smouldering remains of a burnt-out shop on High Road in Tottenham [Leon Neal/AFP]
13) A burned down building the day after riots in Tottenham [Arrizabalaga Facundo/EPA]
>via: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/inpictures/2011/08/2011871232509568.html?utm_content=automateplus&utm_campaign=Trial5&utm_source=SocialFlow&utm_medium=MasterAccount&utm_term=tweets
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Then and Now:
Tottenham riots in 1985 and 2011
From: Facebook: Remembering Cynthia Jarrett
The violent riots in Tottenham have prompted widespread comparisons to the 1985 Tottenham riots in which 82 people were hospitalized, 58 of whom were policemen. The 1985 riots marked the first time shots were fired in a British riot. In 1985, the riots kicked-off when a local resident, Cynthia Jarrett, died of heart failure after four policemen burst into her home during a raid. Now in 2011, a fresh wave of riots have followed the death of a 29-year-old local, Mark Duggan, who was fatally shot by police officers on on August 4th.
This documentary photographer has posted a rare online photo catalogue of the 1985 riots:
Flashback 1985. Some photos from the #Tottenham #riots on Broadwater Farm 26 years ago. http://bit.ly/hs5gfvless than a minute ago via TweetDeck 
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David Hoffman
davidhoffmanuk
From David Hoffman
This 1985 BBC audio tells of how a British policeman was killed during the riots at the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham. At the time, the Guardian newspaper described the riots as the “ugliest episode so far in Britain’s recent wave of racial disorder”.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s violent riots in which 42 were arrested and 26 police officers were injured, many observers have been comparing the events to 1985:
"We were no longer willing to put up with police brutality or racism." http://bit.ly/qV3eJq #tottenham #1985 #2011less than a minute ago via TweetDeck Favorite Retweet Reply
Alondra Nelson
alondra
normalNEVER normalNEVER
Notting hill Riots 1959. Brixton riots 1981. Tottenham Riots 1985. As mindless as it got, people are frustrated. History repeats itself.
lolwarlol lolwarlol
What really concerns me about #tottenham is that no one on either side seems to have found an alternative, better way since 1985
JamesTurnerdj JamesTurnerdj
That just sums up Tottenham 6th october 1985 6th august 2011
laracarbonara laracarbonara
don't think poor police relations justifies burning down & looting your own community? history?most rioters not even born in 1985 #tottenham
per_nyberg per_nyberg
From @Telegraph: #Tottenham riot reminds north London of Broadwater Farm riot in 1985 http://t.co/vhKjFT0 #Nyheterna
Recollections of the 1985 riots have proved divisive and difficult for local communities and the police. The Metropolitan Police has outlined how events unfolded on its website and tell of how “the mob” put up barriers and prepared petrol bombs:
On 5 October 1985 four police officers went to search the home of Mrs Cynthia Jarrett, near the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham. Mrs Jarrett’s son Floyd was in custody at Tottenham police station having given a false name when found in a car with an inaccurately made out tax disc. The visit caused panic among some of the occupants, and Mrs Jarrett, who had a weak heart, collapsed and died despite the officers’ best efforts to revive her.
From Metropolitan Police
The family of Cynthia Jarrett, who collapsed and died while police with a search warrant searched her home for stolen property, marked the 25th anniversary last year:
The police force also honoured the life of PC Keith Blakelock last year – twentyfive years on from his murder on the streets of Haringey:
>via: http://storyful.com/stories/1000006181
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Riots and looting
spread around Greater London
From: @DubbDeuces
London faced a second night of riots and looting on Sunday, following a violent outbreak in Tottenham on Saturday that stunned the city. As they did the night before in Tottenham and Wood Green, youths smashed store windows in Enfield and carted away as much as they could carry, pausing only to smash the windows of a police car. After stinging criticism of their response in Tottenham, police in Enfield responded quickly. But the violence didn’t stop there — it spread from north London to Greater London, even as far as Brixton.
A steady rain in Brixton failed to stop the looting — only empty stores appeared to manage that.
lukewaterfield lukewaterfield
lukewaterfield lukewaterfield
Three cars just pulled away packed full of stuff. Helicopter's clocked them.
fieldproducer @VikramDodd can you follow so I DM something24 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite
skynewsgatherer Nandos in Brixton also been set on fire. Fire now out but lots of smoke still#LondonRiots2 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
jodymcintyre #Brixton: M&S and Footlocker on fire. Vodafone, H&M, Currys and more looted...3 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
jodymcintyre Just got home from the riots in #brixton...5 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
skynewsgatherer Small groups giving police the runaround. Three police vans just sped to Aldi then turned round again. #Brixton5 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
lukewaterfield Police settling in for the night. As am I. Night all.10 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
VikramDodd #londonriots full Met police press release here http://t.co/KRwdagh11 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
VikramDodd #londonriots Police say in #Pondersend Tesco hit and looted, in Islington police car atacked.#waltham forest continued disorder as of 2.23am13 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
fieldproducer Full Met police statement on tonight's disturbance in London: Police are tonight responding to copycat criminal (cont) http://tl.gd/c8an1s13 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
BBCNews Boy hurt in bear attack 'a hero' http://bbc.in/pChz8t14 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
lukewaterfield I was on the beach in Anglesey this morning. Feels like a different planet.14 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
VikramDodd #Londonriots Commander Christine Jones:"This is a challenging situation with small pockets of violence, looting and disorder breaking out"17 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
SkyNewts Reports of shopping centre in Stratford being looted #londonriots19 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
paraicobrien MET police press release re #londonriots http://t.co/UYFp6br20 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
VikramDodd #londonriots yard say 'Approximately 50 youths congregated in Oxford Circus and caused some damage to property' situation under control20 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
fieldproducer So Met police confirm looting 'in a number of boroughs in north,east & south London' - good job government & the mayor aren't on holiday...21 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
PaulLewis #EdmontonGreen now quiet. Police regrouping at police station and late night shops reopening24 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
stellacreasy ok E17 things not completely over but police around- pls if you're still out go home? I'm going to bed so can be up tomorrow for next steps!25 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
PaulLewis Met confirm disturbances in Enfield, Ponders Bar, Edmonton, Brixton, Waltham Forrest, Islington and Oxford Circus #londonriots26 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
PaulLewis Met statement of "copycat" looting and disturbances in boroughs across London.#londonriots28 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
Google map showing Sunday night hotspots:
The looting was more widespread on Sunday, but the outright violence was less.
PaulLewis PaulLewis
Met confirm disturbances in Enfield, Ponders Bar, Edmonton, Brixton, Waltham Forrest, Islington and Oxford Circus #londonriots
hendopolis hendopolis
So..looting, yes. Lawlessness, some - a serious response from the Met, but none of the anger and violence of Tottenham as far as I cd see
Scotland Yard reported three of its officers injured.
metpoliceuk metpoliceuk
3 officers taken to hospital after being hit by fast car whilst making arrests for looting in Waltham Forest. Injuries not life threatening
Sunday’s violence started in Enfield. As in Tottenham, a police car was a target.
billykenber billykenber
Running battles in #Enfield round the back of the church yard. Lots of smashed windows, bricks thrown. Very young group doing it
billykenber billykenber
Wall kicked down to provide bricks to throw in #Enfield http://twitpic.com/62lntq
phonse4u phonse4u
Sky Sources: Extra police deployed to handle disturbances in Enfield, north Londonhttp://twitpic.com/62kdfk
Overhead, police helicopters hummed.
billykenber billykenber
Row after row of police vans. Police dispersal seems to have been pretty successful so far#Enfield http://twitpic.com/62lynr
The police presence in Enfield quickly quelled the violence. But, as happened in Tottenham on Saturday night, the rioters simply moved to another area.
Tarahwelsh Tarahwelsh
Contacts still in #enfield say lots of teens are gathering on Southbury Rd near Tesco. Riot police on horses there.
The police presence in Brixton was too small to handle some of the chaos.
andrew_hough andrew_hough
BREAKING On scene @ #Brixton. Large group of youths throwing bottles @ police. V v scary. All wearing scarfs. Its hit south
andrew_hough andrew_hough
Pictured: Police in #Brixton 
Expand all sections
Metropolitan Police have launched a major investigation after 26 police officers were injured in a full-scale riot in north London. A peaceful protest in Tottenham morphed into a violent riot with looting, burning buildings and cars, blazing barricades and petrol bombs on Saturday night. The initial protest was against the police-involved fatal shooting of Mark Duggan but later developed into the worst riots seen in London in some time.
Operation Withern is now dealing with 55 arrests. We believe that 51 arrests were made in connection with the disorder last night, and 4 have been made for offences committed today.
At this stage we cannot give an exact breakdown of what the arrests are for – the majority were for burglary, and other offences include violent disorder, robbery, theft and handling stolen goods.
From Metropolitan Police
The protest began over the shooting death of a suspected drug dealer by police on Thursday.
RuwaydaMustafah Ruwayda Mustafah
Mark Duggan, father of four was shot twice by Metropolitan police firearms after a shoot-out. #London #Tottenham
martingoode martingoode
Kicking off in #tottenham http://twitpic.com/6219jj
Police set up a cordon around the police station, but people were still arriving at the location upon learning the news from Twitter or television.
The rioters hurled rocks and bottles at police, and the fire spread to a building and a bus.
@HeardinLondon says this is the moment the bus went up in flames:
There were more fires, more looting, and more anger among the residents of Tottenham.
As police chased the looters away from the police station and Tottenham Hale, they swarmed another shopping area: Wood Green.
VikramDodd vikram dodd
#woodgreen 4.15am to sum up, a major shopping area in north London is controlled by looters, and the cops are nowhere to be seen
A local computer store appears to have been massively cleared out, with wires dangling from where flat screen monitors once sat:
ravisomaiya Ravi Somaiya
Utter anarchy in #woodgreen. People with armfuls of goods.
>via: http://storyful.com/stories/1000006194
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