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The aftermath of clashes on streets of Bristol
A charred, blackened patch from where a vehicle was set alight on Bridewell Street is one of the only remaining remnants of clashes on Monday morning.
Horse manure is ground into the tarmac and windows of the police station opposite are covered with temporary wooden boarding after they were smashed during a riot that unfolded into Sunday night, thrusting Bristol into the national spotlight once more.
At 8am, ‘fuck the cops’ graffiti remains on the side of the building, where members of the press gather outside for hastily arranged interviews with police bosses. By 10am, a cleaning team has pulled up with a cherry picker and one man gets to work scrubbing off the tags.
is needed now More than ever
There’s condemnation of Sunday night’s violence across the board from the city’s politicians and those at the top of the force, as well as many residents.
Charred patch on Bridwell Street where police vehicle was set alight
But among the small crowds gathered to view the aftermath on Monday morning, there are also those seeking to find out what went wrong the night before. They are not so quick to condemn those involved in the riot.
“His generation are knackered,” says one woman, gesturing at a younger man standing next to her, as they seek to understand how peaceful action ended in violence.
A student on rollerblades rolls up and speaks to mayor Marvin Rees briefly between interviews. Bel Germon had been at the peaceful protest against the government’s proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill, earlier in the day and came down to try and make sense of how things later unfolded.
“If we have our right to protesting taken away then we might as well not have any rights at all,” says the 23-year-old on why people attended the afternoon protest.
Speaking about the later clashes, Bel adds: “I’m trying to figure it out, that’s why I’m here. I didn’t want to condemn people who made violence if they were doing it for a good reason and doing it because they felt they had absolutely nothing to lose.
“At the same time, it’s actually not that helpful for the cause.”
The bill, that many fear is being rushed through parliament, would change how protests are policed and would make certain aspects of the Coronavirus Act permanent.
Mayor Marvin Rees has joined the city’s Labour MPs in speaking out about the bill itself but, like them, has been unequivocal in his condemnation of the violence, calling it an act of “political illiteracy”.
One photographer, who was at the scene the previous night, describes seeing police in riot gear and says he narrowly avoided pepper spray used by officers on those rioting. He also saw rioters posing in front of the police vehicle with a baton.
Chief constable Andy Marsh has said a thorough debriefing will take place into how things escalated into violence and has vowed to leave no stone unturned as an investigation ensues.
Cleaning crews get to work on the graffiti on the side of Bridewell Police Station
Buildings in the vicinity of Bridewell Police Station have damp patches on the exterior walls on Monday morning, where cleaning teams have already been in and blitzed away graffiti daubed on them during the tensions.
While physical signs of the clashes that made headlines around the country are being quickly erased from the streets of Bristol, it is a subject that isn’t likely to disappear so quickly as people search for answers.
Physical remnants of the riot on Sunday night were quickly removed from the city streets and buildings
All photos by Ellie Pipe
Read more: In photos: Kill the Bill riot
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