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On Thursday 5th December, I attended a public
screening of ‘Riot from Wrong’ (an award winning film about the 2011 riots and
the alleged causes).
In this film people repeatedly accuse the police of
“murdering Mark Duggan” and “executing Mark Duggan” and also complained about
the number of deaths following contact with the police, while other people were
complaining that the police did nothing while rioters looted shops and burned
buildings. The police were unable to respond to the accusations in the film
because of the ongoing inquest into the death of Mark Duggan.
The film did make a few valid points, including how
capitalism and advertising have created a must have society where children are
teased and bullied if they don’t have the latest trainers and clothes, but in
my opinion the film was ruined by using it as a platform to attack the police.
At the end of the film there was an opportunity to question
the makers of the film, Carol Duggan (the Aunt of Mark Duggan) and a couple of
people from Croydon who have been campaigning for compensation for people
affected by the riots. My question was “Do you not think that the film was a
bit bias against the police, being as there was a number of accusations, they
said in it that they murdered Mark Duggan and that they executed him? When they
may have been negligent or committed manslaughter? The accusation of murder or
executing is that not a bit strong or do you feel that they had a motive while
they would have wished to execute him? Also as for the police when they didn’t
come out of Croydon Town Centre to engage the rioters, you mentioned Broadwater
Farm earlier and there was no mention of Keith Blakelock the police officer who
had his head cut off there, which could have quiet easily happened in these
anti-Police Riots. Thank you very much”.
I was interrupted by a Labour Councillor who called out
“surely not” when I said the accusation of murder was a bit strong.
The panel maintained that Mark Duggan was murdered, but no
one gave a motive as to why the police would murder him and Carol Duggan
pointed out that PC Keith Blakelock’s head was not cut off (The murderers tried
to cut his head off and a knife was plunged 6 inches into his neck, but I stand
corrected, his head was not actually cut off)
Interestingly there was no representation from Croydon
Conservatives (the Party in control of Croydon Council) with the chief reporter
for the Croydon Advertiser tweeting “It’s perhaps easy to be cynical about
politicians attending these things, but come on, Tories out numbered by NF”
