The Brixton riots of 1995 began on 13 December after the death of a black 26-year-old, Wayne Douglas, in police custody. Douglas had allegedly robbed a couple in bed at knifepoint hours earlier. Trouble broke out after what had been a peaceful protest outside the Brixton Police Station where the death occurred. With several hundred people involved, the riot resulted in damage to property and vehicles in the area. Police sealed off a three-kilometre (2 mile) area around
Brixton in south
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
The riot lasted for five hours. 22 people were arrested and charged with public order offences, theft and criminal damage. Three police officers were hurt.
The then-Deputy Prime Minister,
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician and businessman. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket. Heseltine served ...
, condemned the riots and said "efforts to improve Brixton would continue".
['']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',
Man's Death Sets Off Riot In London
Death of Wayne Douglas
Wayne Douglas was in police custody to be questioned about a burglary. Police reported that he collapsed in Brixton Police Station. The police statement said that Douglas died after collapsing while being questioned.
Although the post-mortem on Douglas revealed that he had died of heart failure, the inquest into his death showed that he had been held face-down with his hands cuffed behind his back on four occasions. The post-mortem also revealed that Douglas had suffered from heart disease.
The riots
The picketing of Brixton Police Station over the death of Douglas reportedly developed into a march down
Brixton Road (Brixton High Street). Violence was triggered by a standoff between the police and about 100 demonstrators. Witnesses have reported hearing groups of black youths shouting "Killers, killers" at the police.
Some eyewitness accounts describe the police presence at the demonstration as "incredibly heavy-handed".
The BBC reported that "hundreds" of black and white youths participated in the riot. Rioters attacked police, ransacked shops and burned cars. According to the police "Officers were wearing protective clothing because we had reports of missiles being thrown." In an attempt to contain the riot around 50 police officers in
riot gear
Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest.
If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...
formed lines to close Brixton's main road (Brixton Road), preventing anyone from entering the area. The street had been the scene of rioting in 1981. Police also sealed off a two-mile area around the centre of Brixton and closed
Brixton and
Stockwell stations. A police helicopter was dispatched over Brixton. It was reported that shots were fired as the centre of the demonstration moved into the area of the
Ritzy Cinema
The Ritzy is a cinema in Brixton, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building. It is managed by Picturehouse Cinemas, who were bought by Cineworld in 2012.
The cinema opened on 11 March 1911 as "the Electric Pavilion". It was built by E ...
. It was also reported that a crowd of at least ten rioters pulled a police motorcyclist from his machine.
The Dogstar,
Coldharbour Lane
Coldharbour Lane is a road in south London, England, that leads south-westwards from Camberwell to Brixton. The road is over long with a mixture of residential, business and retail buildings - the stretch of Coldharbour Lane near Brixton Ma ...
was among the businesses attacked by the rioters. Formerly The Atlantic, a predominantly black pub, and recently refurbished. The riot later developed into what police called "sporadic pockets of trouble in the area around Brixton town centre". The police stated that "We gave them every opportunity to move off peacefully but they hadn't done so."
One police officer suffered a broken shoulder, fractured ribs and bruising during the riots. He praised the
Territorial Support Group
The Territorial Support Group (TSG) is a Met Operations unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) which specialises in public order policing, amongst other specialist areas. In 2012 it consisted of 793 officers and 29 support staff. Th ...
for protecting him from rioters after he was knocked off his motorbike and beaten.
Causes
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that local residents were outraged by the death of a black man in police custody and saw the riots as expression of alienation in an impoverished area devastated by race riots in 1981.
It quotes Harold Douglas, 39, as saying:
Last night happened because the only time a black man is seen and listened to is when he comes out on the street...They cause a million pounds of damage and then people start taking notice.
At a news conference at the time, Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Paul Condon
Paul Leslie Condon, Baron Condon, (born 10 March 1947) is a British retired police officer. He was the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1993 to 2000.
Education
Condon read Jurisprudence at St Peter's College, Oxford and was made ...
is quoted to have said:
It was not Brixton rioting last night. It was a small minority of thugs and criminals who, as ever, were looking for the opportunity to embark on criminal activities.
A local resident at the time stated:
Local people are not only pissed off with the death of Wayne Douglas but the whole gentrification of Brixton. Council houses and houses occupied by squatters are being sold off and local pubs like the Atlantic, traditionally run by black people, was opened last week by yuppies as 'The Dog Star'. In anger this was smashed, looted and burnt out. The £33 million City Challenge development including CCTV is only of benefit to big business not local stallholders.[SchNEWS 53 - 15th December 1995 - Baylon's Burning - black deaths in custody - direct action conference - In defence of the Criminal Justice Act]
SchNews quoted another local resident, identified as 'Joyce', as saying:
People were putting up barricades. There were hundreds of people involved, mostly young black and white people and they were local, they weren't outsiders. This was a combination of black people dying in police custody and the way Brixton is at the moment. The place is being yuppified with City Challenge while unemployed centres, adventure playgrounds and libraries are getting shut.
Cultural references
*
Carter USM's song "And God Created Brixton" from the 1997 album ''
A World Without Dave
A World Without Dave is an EP by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. It was the group's only Extended play, EP release of original material and was their first release after signing for Cooking Vinyl in 1997.
''A World Without Dave'' was release ...
'' was written about the 1995 Brixton riots.
See also
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Brixton
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Brixton riot (1981)
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Brixton riot (1985)
The Brixton riot of 1985 started on 28 September in Lambeth in South London. It was the second major riot that the area had witnessed in the space of four years, the last in 1981. It was sparked by the shooting of Dorothy "Cherry" Groce by the ...
*
2011 London riots
The 2011 England riots, more widely known as the London riots, were a series of riots between 6 and 11 August 2011. Thousands of people rioted in cities and towns across England, which saw looting, arson, as well as mass deployment of police ...
*
Urban riots
Riots often occur in reaction to a perceived grievance or out of dissent. Riots may be the outcome of a sporting event, although many riots have occurred due to poor working or living conditions, government oppression, conflicts between races or r ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brixton riot, 1995
1995 riots
1995 in London
Black British history
Brixton
Deaths by person in London
December 1995 events in the United Kingdom
Metropolitan Police operations
Riots in London