News / Kill the Bill riot
‘All we did was defend each other’ says man jailed for riot
Carl Davis pleaded guilty to riot, with video footage showing him kicking police officers’ riot shields several times, and also kicking and punching the window of Bridewell police station.
The 26-year-old from Susssex Place St Werburgh’s, who was suffering from mental health issues at the time, also posed for a photograph in front of a burning police vehicle.
He was jailed for two years and six months by judge James Patrick at Bristol Crown Court for his part in the ‘kill the bill’ riot of March 2021, despite the judge saying that the level of violence he used was “modest” in comparison to other people he had previously imprisoned.
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In a statement to the Network for Police Monitoring, Davis said he “pled guilty for riot as the evidence seemed too strong for trial”.
He said: “Ironically one of the main pieces of evidence was traces of my blood that in fact came from an injury caused by riot police, which is a classic example of what really happened that day.
“I don’t even like to consider it as a riot when in my eyes it was just a peaceful protest against an inhumane bill that was turned violent by the police who broke countless laws and then lied to the media about getting injuries.
“All we did was defend each other and show the world that if the people who enforce the laws won’t abide by them, then neither will we.”
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Read more: Independent report on Bristol violence says police may have acted illegally
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Avon & Somerset police detective superintendent James Riccio, the senior investigating officer, said: “Carl Davis posed for photographs in front of a burning police van following the awful of events of 21 March 2021.
“Hours earlier he had repeatedly kicked officers and contributed to the breaking of the police station window.
“He was by no means the worst offender on the night, but his actions were still completely unacceptable and it is right he faces the consequences.”
Main photo: Carl Davis
Read next:
- Are Bristol’s ‘kill the bill’ protesters being made examples of by the state?
- Policing a protest: the view from the control room
- Police pay damages to peaceful ‘kill the bill’ protesters
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