Chief constable defends policing of College Green protest

The chief constable of Avon & Somerset Police has defended tactics used by officers to disperse protesters from College Green on Tuesday night.

Officers with shields, dogs and horses returned to the streets for the second time in 48 hours after an estimated 250 people gathered peacefully to voice their opposition to the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill.

Footage of police in full riot gear confronting seated protesters, some of whom were forcibly removed and dragged along the floor, has sparked criticism and questions over the handling of the situation.

More criticism has come after police initially reported that one officer suffered a broken arm and another suffered broken ribs during Sunday night’s violence, but later clarified this was not true, saying that the two officers taken to hospital had not suffered broken bones.

On Wednesday, chief constable Andy Marsh said officers were in an incredibly difficult situation and that it is their job to use “minimal force to bring things to a conclusion”.

He said the small encampment of people who set up tents on College Green were given numerous opportunities to leave without the use of force but argued it is the duty of the police to enforce the law and protests are currently deemed illegal under the government’s coronavirus rules.

In total, 14 people were arrested for offences including breaches of Covid-19 legislation and obstruction of a highway, with one of those detained also arrested in connection with Sunday’s riot.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Bristol24/7 Editor Martin Booth was briefly detained by officers, who did not believe he was a journalist.

This followed a confrontation between two Bristol Cable journalists and an officer who threatened them with the use of force and arrest, despite clearly stating they were journalists and showing their press cards.

Bristol24/7 Editor Martin Booth was detained by police who said that they did not believe he was a journalist – photo: Simon Chapman

Addressing the incident regarding the Bristol Cable journalists, Marsh said an apology would be issued, adding the officer involved is not from Avon & Somerset Police.

“We welcome transparency and openness, that is the antidote to mistrust, so we welcome media there,” said Marsh.

Speaking during a press conference, the chief constable said: “We do understand people’s frustrations and anxieties and concerns but now is not the time to protest.

“We need at some stage to bring things to a safe conclusion using the minimum of force. I don’t believe that at one or two in the morning people were looking to lay flowers, they were looking to escalate things.

“We have to use minimal force to move things on. However, you do that is not always going to look pretty but we use minimum force to bring it to a conclusion. We did not want to do that. We made communications all day.”

Marsh said the scene on College Green was more of a party or rave than protest.

He added: “If people are unhappy with what they saw, they have every right to make a complaint.

“We will be held to account for the way we dealt with things, but the situation was that we couldn’t let it progress last night.”

Cleo Lake, the Green Party’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) candidate for Avon & Somerset and current councillor for Cotham, is one of the only politicians in the city to raise some concerns about police tactics on Sunday night.

In a statement on Facebook, Lake said: “It’s easy to blame the rioters but in our hearts we know the situation is more complex than that.”

She also said if she was PCC, she would call for an internal inquiry into the policing of the clashes on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/CleoDanceBaton/status/1374624712605720580

Marvin Rees said he would not make any comment on whether police were heavy-handed on Tuesday night as he had not seen any evidence himself, adding that if any citizen has been mistreated by any institution he would speak out.

The mayor said he has confidence in the way Marsh has gone about policing the city over the last year, calling it “culturally competent and emotionally intelligent”.

“I have major problems with the bill, I think it’s wrong too,” said Rees. “But we have got to have a real strategy and think about how you influence Westminster and some of the strategies being deployed are strategically inept.”

Both the mayor and chief constable agreed the current outlawing of protests under lockdown restrictions has made policing of demonstrations more challenging as no organisers are willing to come forward and engage with police for fear of a £10,000 fine.

Main photo by Martin Booth

Read more: ‘I calmly told police I was a journalist, but they said they didn’t believe me’