(Harder to find police opinion as many want to remain anonymous, more reluctant to talk about their experiences or feelings towards the riots)
PC Lewis, a response team police officer in South East London, states that he was as shocked by the riots as anyone else.
He says that the riots in Tottenham were initially a protest, but in other areas it was opportunistic, taking advantage of the emergency services being stretched to get away with looting and stealing.
Said that there was ‘no excuse’ for the fires.
Alexandra Topping from The Guardian did a report with officers who were on the front line, none wished to be identified.
One sergeant was suffering with concussion after being hit in the head with a brick. Another had an injured foot from a block of concrete thrown at him.
An officer described how, when one policeman fell to the floor, paramedics who rushed to his aid had missiles thrown at them. He said “Being on the floor in a riot is not the best place to be.
Another officer tells how he had worked a 24 hour shift on the 7th and was into the 15th hour of his shift on the 8th when interviewed.
Police had to fill in forms to justify any violence used.
There were worries for police dogs as well as officers- one dog got a blow to his face, another got glass in his paws.
Although some locals had offered words of support and cups of tea, others had shouted abuse from their windows.
The anonymous officer said: “It can all feel a bit thankless at the moment, to be honest”.
For the less experienced riot officers, “it is scary”
Some police had to use minivans instead of riot vans, leaving them vulnerable to missiles thrown by rioters.
Comparing the riots to the student demonstrations, the anonymous officer said: “It’s completely different. There was some violence then, but you didn’t have people basically wanting to murder you”
Sources:
‘London Riots: Police tell of their battles’ by Alexandra Topping in The Guardian, 09/08/2011
PC Lewis in Time Out (18-24 August) [p19]
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