An illegal London street party turned into a violent riot against police when officers tried to shut it down, with disturbing images showing a man waving a sword at a line of police officers.
Scotland Yard says that at least 22 officers were wounded on Wednesday night when the large crowd turned on them after they attempted to shut down a “large unlicensed music event” in Brixton.
The videos show several people jumping into a patrol car, using makeshift weapons to smash all their windows, while another clip shows a man waving a sword and telling police officers to “back off,” Evening Standard said.
Even officers with riot gear were forced to back down when missiles were launched, the Standard said.
“Welcome to Brixton,” some clips from social media were captioned, referring to the troubled South London story that has included some of the nation’s worst riots.
Despite the ugly scenes and the number of officers injured, only four people were arrested for assault and public order crimes, Scotland Yard said.
Interior Secretary Priti Patel condemned the “utterly vile scenes”.
Metropolitan Police Federation President Ken Marsh described it as an “absolute wave of anger and hatred towards the police,” saying: “Police officers are not punching bags.”
“This violence is despicable. Once again, our brave colleagues in London have been attacked, ”he said.
“My colleagues are also human beings, and suddenly, in scenes like last night, they are faced with people who ultimately want to cause them serious harm.”
He insisted: “My colleagues face all kinds of trauma from these incidents.”
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