Sorry I've been on the Stella and got a bit fighty. So you'll excuse me if I don't exactly set the right tone for the rest of this post.
Yesterday (9/8/11) Britain's Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) released their preliminary findings into the shooting of Mark Duggan which sparked the last four days of rioting in the UK. These findings can be read here;
http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/Pages/pr_090811_dugganupdate.aspx
However the main points are;
On Thursday August 4th 2011 an intelligence led operation by London's Metropolitan Police's "Operation Trident" (SCD11) caused four officer's (3+Driver) from London's Metropolitan Police's firearms unit (CO19) to stop a taxi (Toyota Estima) containing Mark Duggan on Ferry Road, Tottenham at 18:15. As they surrounded the vehicle one of the CO19 officers discharged a 9mm jacketed round from his Heckler & Koch MP5 carbine. This round struck another CO19 officer in his radio. In fear of his life this or possibly the third officer discharged two 9mm jacketed rounds which struck Mark Duggan in his chest and arm. At 18:41 Mr Duggan was pronounced dead at the scene.
At the scene the police also recovered a BBM Bruni pistol which is assumed to belong to Mr Duggan. This weapon had not been fired but contained a single 9mm jacketed round in the magazine.
The only problem is that the Italian weapons manufacturer Bruni do not make a BBM pistol. What they do make is a range of blank firing and 8mm gas powered replica weapons which can look like any handgun you choose including a Beretta 92, a Walther PPK or a Colt.45. The Italian and Manchester City footballer Mario Bartoelli was recently photographed holding a Bruni Beretta 92 so we can only assume that the BBM was a reference to Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service which apparently played a crucial role in organising the riots. Bruni also make a range of sporting pistols including the "Olympic 6" revolver style starting pistol which was a bit of a hint that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were in London yesterday (9/9/11) to inspect preparations for the 2012 games.
Anyway we're still trying to work out a suitable punishment for the police officers involved in the Mark Duggan shooting. Ideally all of them should be tried for joint enterprise murder. However I think the best the law will allow is negligent manslaughter because the sad fact about guns is that even the best made of them - like a H&K MP5 - is that sometimes they do just go off because you've shaken them too hard.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Watch the BBC Get in Trouble For This.
It's 22:52 and I've been trying to update by blog for about 10 minutes.
I got back from my grandmother's at around 22:40. The main topic of conversation there was why last night (8/8/11) when I said; "Don't worry, they're rioting up the top but the police are pushing in them in the other direction." I was lying through my teeth. She knows that now because she's had the TV and the carers banging on her door all day long.
Anyway other things on my to do list include; the world economy, Syria, Somalia/ Kenya/East African food crisis, the IPCC report into the Mark Duggan shooting and I would quite like the opportunity to do some laundry some day soon. Or to put it another way;
Keep rioting, It's f*cking Funny(!)
22:59
I got back from my grandmother's at around 22:40. The main topic of conversation there was why last night (8/8/11) when I said; "Don't worry, they're rioting up the top but the police are pushing in them in the other direction." I was lying through my teeth. She knows that now because she's had the TV and the carers banging on her door all day long.
Anyway other things on my to do list include; the world economy, Syria, Somalia/ Kenya/East African food crisis, the IPCC report into the Mark Duggan shooting and I would quite like the opportunity to do some laundry some day soon. Or to put it another way;
Keep rioting, It's f*cking Funny(!)
22:59
It's All Gone a Bit Iraq.
It's 20:06 on Tuesday August 9th 2011, I'm back from the pub and everything is ok.
This however does not mean that everything was fine because on the advice of the police my usual pub had removed all it's outside chairs and tables, barricaded the doors and windows, removed all the spirits from being the bar and closed the kitchen.
This forced my father and I to instead go to the Moon Under Water Wetherspoons on the London Road, right opposite Windsor House and next to Norbury Fire Station which seemed tired. To make matters worse they had a new barman on and it was his very first day. I had the chicken burger and my father had the steak while we discussed how when he went to bed at around midnight last night he might have under estimated the situation.
Anyway now I'm getting up to speed with the days news it turns out that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have released their initial findings into the shooting of Mark Duggan. Unfortunately it will take a couple of hours before I'm able to impress you all with my complete lack of knowledge of eastern european 8mm gas powered pistols. I will say though;
The police lied because they want you to riot. If you riot the police will only lie some more.
Oh and London road was being kept quiet by three police carriers from Thames Valley police doing thunder runs all evening
Anyway 20:17, trying to publish
This however does not mean that everything was fine because on the advice of the police my usual pub had removed all it's outside chairs and tables, barricaded the doors and windows, removed all the spirits from being the bar and closed the kitchen.
This forced my father and I to instead go to the Moon Under Water Wetherspoons on the London Road, right opposite Windsor House and next to Norbury Fire Station which seemed tired. To make matters worse they had a new barman on and it was his very first day. I had the chicken burger and my father had the steak while we discussed how when he went to bed at around midnight last night he might have under estimated the situation.
Anyway now I'm getting up to speed with the days news it turns out that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have released their initial findings into the shooting of Mark Duggan. Unfortunately it will take a couple of hours before I'm able to impress you all with my complete lack of knowledge of eastern european 8mm gas powered pistols. I will say though;
The police lied because they want you to riot. If you riot the police will only lie some more.
Oh and London road was being kept quiet by three police carriers from Thames Valley police doing thunder runs all evening
Anyway 20:17, trying to publish
Kristallnacht
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron has returned from his holiday and today (9/8/11) visited riot-torn Croydon Town Centre. This did not make my visit to riot-torn Croydon Town Centre any less complicated.
In order to understand last night's violence in Croydon you first need to know a little a bit about the local geography. There is a road that passes through Croydon which stretches from central London all the way down to Brighton on the south coast known as the London to Brighton road or London Road for short. Along the mile (1.6km) of this road between Thornton Heath Pond and West Croydon railway station where the rioting began there are eight large, newly built apartment buildings containing over 1000 apartments and 100 retail units. It is in this area where most of the worst arson occurred.
As you enter from Thornton Heath Pond the first fire you come across occurred at the junction of London Road, Sumner Road and St James' Road. This is the fire the BBC have been reporting from for most of the day. On one side of the road you have one of these large apartment buildings. On the other side there used to be a Tote bookmakers and a parade of two level shops dating from the 1930's. Last night a fire was started in either the bookmakers or the neighbouring shop and totally gutted four properties and damaged several more. The entire parade will now have to be demolished and re-developed.
The second and third major fires occurred on a parade of shops approaching the junction of London Road, Mead Road and Oakfield Road. This is where David Cameron visited today. At one end of this parade of two level shops dating from the 1930's you have the stand alone, newly built headquarters of the Croydon Voluntary Action "community" group which is partly funded and I believe owned by the Whitgift Foundation. Fortunately this building was untouched but the shop next to it which had an occupied apartment above it was set ablaze. This fire spread up the parade destroying four or five properties. At the Oakfield Road end of the parade there used to be a pawnbrokers and a music shop called "Rockbottom Music" which was something of a Croydon landmark. Both the pawnbrokers and the music shop where set alight and the fire burned back up the parade destroying four of five properties. The entire parade will now have to be demolished and re-developed.
You then come up to West Croydon railway station and a street called North End where Croydon's two shopping malls; the Drummond Centre and the Whitgift Centre are located. These contain some of Croydon's best shops including jewellers, many mobile phone shops, electronic stores and sports stores like JJB Sports which have all been major targets for looters in other parts of the country. Curiously though these shopping malls were left undamaged save for a branch of Comet which was looted, some minor damage to the Wellesley Road entrance to the Whitgift Centre and some minor damage to the Tamworth Road entrance to the Drummond centre.
If you continue down Tamworth Road you come to Reeves Corner, scene of the fifth and largest fire - footage of which has been seen on TV screens from San Diego to Sydney. On Reeves Corner there used to be a pub and a furniture shop called "Reeves Furniture" which has been there for 150 years and has been owned by the same family for five generations. It is such a local institution that they named the street after the shop. This has all already been destroyed by the fire and will have to be re-developed. Across the road stands the newly built Whitgift Foundation nursery school and a newly built apartment and office complex which houses Whitgift Foundation funded charites.
So I don't care what the Prime Minister says. In Croydon the people responsible for last night's violence and destruction won't be punished. Instead the police will protect them just like they've been protecting them for years. To make matters worse last night's riot will be re-classified as "an incident of serious violent disorder" because a riot means the police lost control and therefore have to pay for all the damage. Violent disorder though means that the business and home owners will have to pay.
And to think there are still people who can't understand why large sections of British society truly hate the police.
In order to understand last night's violence in Croydon you first need to know a little a bit about the local geography. There is a road that passes through Croydon which stretches from central London all the way down to Brighton on the south coast known as the London to Brighton road or London Road for short. Along the mile (1.6km) of this road between Thornton Heath Pond and West Croydon railway station where the rioting began there are eight large, newly built apartment buildings containing over 1000 apartments and 100 retail units. It is in this area where most of the worst arson occurred.
As you enter from Thornton Heath Pond the first fire you come across occurred at the junction of London Road, Sumner Road and St James' Road. This is the fire the BBC have been reporting from for most of the day. On one side of the road you have one of these large apartment buildings. On the other side there used to be a Tote bookmakers and a parade of two level shops dating from the 1930's. Last night a fire was started in either the bookmakers or the neighbouring shop and totally gutted four properties and damaged several more. The entire parade will now have to be demolished and re-developed.
The second and third major fires occurred on a parade of shops approaching the junction of London Road, Mead Road and Oakfield Road. This is where David Cameron visited today. At one end of this parade of two level shops dating from the 1930's you have the stand alone, newly built headquarters of the Croydon Voluntary Action "community" group which is partly funded and I believe owned by the Whitgift Foundation. Fortunately this building was untouched but the shop next to it which had an occupied apartment above it was set ablaze. This fire spread up the parade destroying four or five properties. At the Oakfield Road end of the parade there used to be a pawnbrokers and a music shop called "Rockbottom Music" which was something of a Croydon landmark. Both the pawnbrokers and the music shop where set alight and the fire burned back up the parade destroying four of five properties. The entire parade will now have to be demolished and re-developed.
You then come up to West Croydon railway station and a street called North End where Croydon's two shopping malls; the Drummond Centre and the Whitgift Centre are located. These contain some of Croydon's best shops including jewellers, many mobile phone shops, electronic stores and sports stores like JJB Sports which have all been major targets for looters in other parts of the country. Curiously though these shopping malls were left undamaged save for a branch of Comet which was looted, some minor damage to the Wellesley Road entrance to the Whitgift Centre and some minor damage to the Tamworth Road entrance to the Drummond centre.
If you continue down Tamworth Road you come to Reeves Corner, scene of the fifth and largest fire - footage of which has been seen on TV screens from San Diego to Sydney. On Reeves Corner there used to be a pub and a furniture shop called "Reeves Furniture" which has been there for 150 years and has been owned by the same family for five generations. It is such a local institution that they named the street after the shop. This has all already been destroyed by the fire and will have to be re-developed. Across the road stands the newly built Whitgift Foundation nursery school and a newly built apartment and office complex which houses Whitgift Foundation funded charites.
So I don't care what the Prime Minister says. In Croydon the people responsible for last night's violence and destruction won't be punished. Instead the police will protect them just like they've been protecting them for years. To make matters worse last night's riot will be re-classified as "an incident of serious violent disorder" because a riot means the police lost control and therefore have to pay for all the damage. Violent disorder though means that the business and home owners will have to pay.
And to think there are still people who can't understand why large sections of British society truly hate the police.
Monday, 8 August 2011
Can You Say "Failed State"?
It's 02:25 on Tuesday August 9th 2011 and the London wide rioting has spread to become UK wide rioting.
There have now been serious disturbances in the St Pauls area of Bristol, the Toxteth area of Liverpool and Manchester city centre. In the Handsworth area of Birmingham a police station has been set ablaze. In the Chapeltown area of Leeds rioting continues and one person has been shot.
In London rioting has continued in Hackney, Lewisham, Peckham, Colliers Wood and Clapham where a large branch of the Debenhams department store was looted for a full hour and a half before being set ablaze. Rioting has also spread to Bromley, Ealing and Woolwich which is being described as "a f*cking warzone." In Waltham Abbey the Sony distribution warehouse that occupies a couple of acres is fully ablaze and looks set to burn to the ground. Here in Croydon the air is still thick with smoke and the police have confirmed at least one shooting
So it is just like the inner city riots of the 1980's. All of them on the same day. I'm surprised Qaddafi hasn't been on the phone offering support.
There have now been serious disturbances in the St Pauls area of Bristol, the Toxteth area of Liverpool and Manchester city centre. In the Handsworth area of Birmingham a police station has been set ablaze. In the Chapeltown area of Leeds rioting continues and one person has been shot.
In London rioting has continued in Hackney, Lewisham, Peckham, Colliers Wood and Clapham where a large branch of the Debenhams department store was looted for a full hour and a half before being set ablaze. Rioting has also spread to Bromley, Ealing and Woolwich which is being described as "a f*cking warzone." In Waltham Abbey the Sony distribution warehouse that occupies a couple of acres is fully ablaze and looks set to burn to the ground. Here in Croydon the air is still thick with smoke and the police have confirmed at least one shooting
So it is just like the inner city riots of the 1980's. All of them on the same day. I'm surprised Qaddafi hasn't been on the phone offering support.
It's Still Spreading
The London riots have now spread out to three other British cities; Birmingham in the Midlands, Romford in Essex and Leeds in Yorkshire where one man has reportedly been shot. Apart from the use of firearms this is worrying because it means that West Midlands Police, South Yorkshire Police and Essex Police can no longer send reinforcements to London.
Within London the rioting has spread to Catford, Colliers Wood and Clapham which is a very wealthy area. It has also spread to Croydon where I live. Here at least two large buildings have been burnt to the ground in prime redevelopment sites. So you'll excuse me if I don't say anymore about that at the moment because I feel I've got a long enough night ahead of me especially as the police seem to be redeploying to Clapham.
Oh and if you're interested to know where the rest of the police are most of them have been deployed to Oxford Street to protect all the rich people.
Within London the rioting has spread to Catford, Colliers Wood and Clapham which is a very wealthy area. It has also spread to Croydon where I live. Here at least two large buildings have been burnt to the ground in prime redevelopment sites. So you'll excuse me if I don't say anymore about that at the moment because I feel I've got a long enough night ahead of me especially as the police seem to be redeploying to Clapham.
Oh and if you're interested to know where the rest of the police are most of them have been deployed to Oxford Street to protect all the rich people.
The Police are Starting to Lose This.
The rioting in London has now entered it's third day.
At around 15:30 today (8/8/11) police stopped and searched a young man in Hackney (the Olympic Borough.) When the police failed to find anything illegal about the man they came under attack from an angry crowd armed with fists, bricks, bottles and sticks which forced the police to abandon their patrol cars. Eventually police reinforcements arrived and the situation developed into a full blown riot with burning barricades being erected, buses and trucks being hijacked and shops being smashed and looted. This riot is still ongoing now (20:15) and appears to be escalating. To give you an idea of the anger involved I earlier saw footage of a masked man walk up to a line of a dozen police officers in full riot gear and just punch one of them full in the face. That is not something you see everyday.
As word of the riot in Hackney spread another large scale disturbance started in Lewisham with crowds fighting the police and each other, setting fire to cars and looting. At around the same time (17:00) another major disturbance started in Peckham with a bus being hijacked and set on fire, fights breaking out all over the place and a parade of shops being set on fire. As with the situation in Hackney the disturbances in Lewisham and Peckham are still ongoing.
The situation has got so serious that both the Mayor of London and the UK Home Secretary have been forced to return from their holidays early. Even though they've combined their efforts the Metropolitan Police, the City of Westminster Police and the British Transport Police are now so overstretched that they been forced to call in reinforcements for 12 other police forces including some as far away as Newcastle. At the risk of sounding dramatic I seriously think that if this continues we're about two days away from the army having to be deployed but yet our Prime Minister is still on holiday.
At around 15:30 today (8/8/11) police stopped and searched a young man in Hackney (the Olympic Borough.) When the police failed to find anything illegal about the man they came under attack from an angry crowd armed with fists, bricks, bottles and sticks which forced the police to abandon their patrol cars. Eventually police reinforcements arrived and the situation developed into a full blown riot with burning barricades being erected, buses and trucks being hijacked and shops being smashed and looted. This riot is still ongoing now (20:15) and appears to be escalating. To give you an idea of the anger involved I earlier saw footage of a masked man walk up to a line of a dozen police officers in full riot gear and just punch one of them full in the face. That is not something you see everyday.
As word of the riot in Hackney spread another large scale disturbance started in Lewisham with crowds fighting the police and each other, setting fire to cars and looting. At around the same time (17:00) another major disturbance started in Peckham with a bus being hijacked and set on fire, fights breaking out all over the place and a parade of shops being set on fire. As with the situation in Hackney the disturbances in Lewisham and Peckham are still ongoing.
The situation has got so serious that both the Mayor of London and the UK Home Secretary have been forced to return from their holidays early. Even though they've combined their efforts the Metropolitan Police, the City of Westminster Police and the British Transport Police are now so overstretched that they been forced to call in reinforcements for 12 other police forces including some as far away as Newcastle. At the risk of sounding dramatic I seriously think that if this continues we're about two days away from the army having to be deployed but yet our Prime Minister is still on holiday.
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