On 30 August 1976, riots broke out at the Notting Hill Carnival in London, after carnival-goers, sick of police harassment of the many Black attendees, fought back against officers. Both Black and white young people set fire to police vehicles, hurled stones and other projectiles at the police, smashed windows and expropriated goods from stores. Police at the time did not have riot equipment, so they try to use dustbin lids and road signs as shields, and drove their vehicles into the crowd, although some of them had to be abandoned when they were pelted with stones, then set on fire. Anarchy magazine reported that "Police were knocked over like ninepins by volleys of bricks and bottles". Meanwhile the notoriously violent Special Patrol Group helped spread the disturbances by attacking people at random. By the end of the night, over 300 police were injured, with 35 of their vehicles damaged. 17 young Black people were subsequently put on trial for 79 offences, but only two were convicted.
Notting Hill Carnival Riots - WCH | Stories
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