Four officers have been taken to hospital as riot police attempted to control a violent Black Lives Matter rally in east London.
Rioters threw projectiles at the police line and set fire to bins at the demonstration in Forest Hill in the borough of Newham.
The protest was called after the death of Edir Frederico Da Costa, 25, on the 21st of June, six days after Metropolitan Police officers in Newham stopped him in a car.
Activists claim he was beaten by police and left with a broken neck. However, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said a preliminary post-mortem indicated there were no spinal injuries caused by police, The Times reports.
In total, six police officers were injured, with one male officer sustaining facial injuries and a female officer suffered a head injury, the force revealed in a statement.
The protest of around 200 people started on Sunday afternoon with people holding Black Lives Matter signs made by a group called Stand Up to Racism, which is connected to the disgraced Socialist Workers Party.
Echoing the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S., they chanted: “No justice, peace! Fuck the police!”
Signs bearing the logo of the Movement for Justice (MfJ) group can also bee seen in photographs – the same open-borders organisation that called the ‘Day of Rage’ protest last week that aimed to “shut down London” and “bring down the government”.
As the sun set, things turned violent. Four rioters were arrested for the offences of arson, disorder, and criminal damages. Helicopters were scrambled and roads were closed in the demonstration, which continued until at least 3 am.
The Metropolitan Police said: “On Sunday, 25 June a protest occurred outside Forest Gate police station, with the protesters later moving on to the Stratford area.
“The protest returned to the police station, where a number of objects were thrown towards officers.
“A small number of roadway fires – involving the contents of litter bins – were started; these were dealt with by the London Fire Brigade. We are not aware of any damage to local buildings.”
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