Police fail to start a riot - Stokescroft Riot - Ashley Road FRONTLINE 21 Apr 20
Y'all know da name! | 22.04.2011 15:16 | Culture | Globalisation | Social Struggles
Chill in the Amitabha buddhist centre in the morning and meet some crystal kids, join them for the midday meditation. Followed by sharing natural clarity in St Andrews park. Buddha blessed incense. In the park one of my new friends predicts riot vibes for the evening, no reason, just an ominous feeling.
Link antarma and craig in the evening. They go out for Falafells, and come back telling me they just help stop a riot on Picton Street by getting the street chanting "Ohm". They come back to get me and my camera. Ooookay. I'm not a frontline activist, I learned I do not resonate with angry people when I was in Tasmania . Half an hour later the 3 of us help stop a riot on Ashley Road.
We go back to chill out and chant the thousand names of Shakti. Wake up the next day, while we were chanting Tesco's was getting mullered.
According to the BBC -
Eyewitnesses said police fought running battles with hundreds of protesters, who dug up cobbles from the road to throw at them.
Police carried out the raid because they feared a nearby Tesco store was to be attacked with petrol bombs.
However, the raid led to trouble in nearby streets with bins and skips being set alight.
Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said: "This was not an eviction but positive action to protect the store."
According to Bristol 24-7
People using Twitter to report on the events told of their fear as they tried to make their way back home own Cheltenham Road. Others wrote how only Tesco had been targeted and that one person who threw a brick at the window of the Bristol Credit Union was hauled away by the protesters themselves.... QUOTE “I was on the junction of Stokes Croft high street when the police charged what was only at that point a crowd (of about 100 but which quickly grew) down Ashley Road pretty much all the way to the end of it over the course of a couple of hours. Due to the absolute confusion a number of people had emerged from their houses only to shortly find they were the wrong side of a road block and got roped in to what became a three-hour running battle through pretty much all of the back streets coming off Ashley Road and in to St Pauls, numerous burning barracades were erected and a huge amount of people were battered and bloodied by police for attempting to approach police lines to get home to find friends. By this point there was devastation everywhere. All junctions were blocked by overturned glass bottle dumpsters and makeshift neighbourhood roadblocks blocks.
According to the website of the Avon and Somerset Constabularly
"Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said:" Residents have called us to several incidents in the property over the past few days. Yesterday there was a very real threat to the local community from the petrol bombs that were being made and we needed to take positive action. If this was really a threat why were the bars not evacuated and if this was a quick response where did the Welsh police vans come from? This seemed pre-planned. I'm not accusing the police of lying yet, but I'm accusing Tescos of lying from the start.
"The safety of the public is paramount in any situation of this kind and we took the decision to carry out a swift arrest operation, following intelligence received about the criminal intentions of those who were occupying the building,"
Knocking local residents over with riot shields is not "The safety of the public is paramount"
"The fact that we seized petrol bombs illustrates the seriousness of this situation and the reason why we took this positive action." If this was really a threat why were the bars not evacuated and if this was a quick response where did the Welsh police vans come f rom? This seemed pre-planned.
"When 300 people congregated and a small minority from that group started small fires and throwing bottles, stones and other items at officers, we used well-rehearsed plans, which involved the use of officers from neighbouring forces to control what had become a volatile situation," said ACC Hansen.?
It was more than 300 people, it was everyone that was drinking on Stokescroft and all the residents who were woken up by the police helicopter. That's about a thousand at a guess with a small minority of maybe 300 angry people. The Thing is Stokescroft is anti-establishment. That's just the vibe. If Chris Chalkley wasn't making graffiti legitmate it would still be there, it is a de facto autonomous zone with a history of anarchy and activism. Police vans do not belong. "We used well-rehearsed plans" which resulted in the police retreating twice, Tesco's getting smashed and a clear sign to whatever authority said yes to Tescos and said yes to riot police - the power's that used to be are obsolete, your presence is neither requested nor permitted, good-bye.
Stokescroft to Gloucester Road is an obviously tangible ley line, necessary to maintain a one love vibe regardless of babylon on our doorstep, ESPECIALLY with them on our doorstep :-) x
Mercury is back on track. When does Mars conjunct with Uranus? :-)
FOOTAGE - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omytLxiA-cE
Tesco Value Spraypaint
Chill in the Amitabha buddhist centre in the morning and meet some crystal kids, join them for the midday meditation. Followed by sharing natural clarity in St Andrews park. Buddha blessed incense. In the park one of my new friends predicts riot vibes for the evening, no reason, just an ominous feeling.
Link Antarma and Craig in the evening. They go out for Falafells, and come back telling me they just help stop a riot on Picton Street by getting the street chanting "Ohm". They come back to get me and my camera. Ooookay. I'm not a frontline activist, I learned I do not resonate with angry people when I was in Tasmania . Half an hour later the 3 of us help stop a riot on Ashley Road.
We go back to chill out and chant the thousand names of Shakti. Wake up the next day, while we were chanting Tesco's was getting mullered.
According to the BBC -
Eyewitnesses said police fought running battles with hundreds of protesters, who dug up cobbles from the road to throw at them.
Police carried out the raid because they feared a nearby Tesco store was to be attacked with petrol bombs.
However, the raid led to trouble in nearby streets with bins and skips being set alight.
Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said: "This was not an eviction but positive action to protect the store."
* *** ***** ******** *************
According to Bristol 24-7
People using Twitter to report on the events told of their fear as they tried to make their way back home own Cheltenham Road. Others wrote how only Tesco had been targeted and that one person who threw a brick at the window of the Bristol Credit Union was hauled away by the protesters themselves.... QUOTE “I was on the junction of Stokes Croft high street when the police charged what was only at that point a crowd (of about 100 but which quickly grew) down Ashley Road pretty much all the way to the end of it over the course of a couple of hours. Due to the absolute confusion a number of people had emerged from their houses only to shortly find they were the wrong side of a road block and got roped in to what became a three-hour running battle through pretty much all of the back streets coming off Ashley Road and in to St Pauls, numerous burning barracades were erected and a huge amount of people were battered and bloodied by police for attempting to approach police lines to get home to find friends. By this point there was devastation everywhere. All junctions were blocked by overturned glass bottle dumpsters and makeshift neighbourhood roadblocks blocks.
* *** ***** ******** *************
According to the website of the Avon and Somerset Constabularly
"Assistant Chief Constable Rod Hansen said:" Residents have called us to several incidents in the property over the past few days. Yesterday there was a very real threat to the local community from the petrol bombs that were being made and we needed to take positive action. If this was really a threat why were the bars not evacuated and if this was a quick response where did the Welsh police vans come from? This seemed pre-planned. I'm not accusing the police of lying yet, but I'm accusing Tescos of lying from the start.
"The safety of the public is paramount in any situation of this kind and we took the decision to carry out a swift arrest operation, following intelligence received about the criminal intentions of those who were occupying the building,"
Knocking local residents over with riot shields is not "The safety of the public is paramount"
"The fact that we seized petrol bombs illustrates the seriousness of this situation and the reason why we took this positive action." If this was really a threat why were the bars not evacuated and if this was a quick response where did the Welsh police vans come f rom? This seemed pre-planned.
"When 300 people congregated and a small minority from that group started small fires and throwing bottles, stones and other items at officers, we used well-rehearsed plans, which involved the use of officers from neighbouring forces to control what had become a volatile situation," said ACC Hansen.?
* *** ***** ******** *************
It was more than 300 people, it was everyone that was drinking on Stokescroft and all the residents who were woken up by the police helicopter. That's about a thousand at a guess with a small minority of maybe 300 angry people. The Thing is Stokescroft is anti-establishment. That's just the vibe. If Chris Chalkley wasn't making graffiti legitmate it would still be there, it is a de facto autonomous zone with a history of anarchy and activism. Police vans do not belong. "We used well-rehearsed plans" which resulted in the police retreating twice, Tesco's getting smashed and a clear sign to whatever authority said yes to Tescos and said yes to riot police - the power's that used to be are obsolete, your presence is neither requested nor permitted, good-bye.
FOOTAGE - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omytLxiA-cE
Y'all know da name!