0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains strong language.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10There's petrol bombs and bricks being thrown. They had control at that point.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12And a lot of them knew that.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16As we exited the car park,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19the van was getting constantly pelted.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23The thing that probably scared me the most was that the side door was about to fly open.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And someone was just going to come in and drag me off.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31As soon as the officer went down, this kind of cheer...
0:00:32 > 0:00:35And they're trying to throw quite large chunks of masonry on him.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39I've never seen that level of hatred towards the police.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45For five days last summer, England was looted and burned.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50Confronting the rioters were just a few thousand police officers.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52They held the thin blue line
0:00:52 > 0:00:55when control of Britain's streets hung in the balance.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I had to say, "You're not going to get any more resources
0:00:58 > 0:01:00"in the immediate future.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03"You've got what you've got, you're going to have to try and hold the high street."
0:01:03 > 0:01:05He said to me, "Are you joking?"
0:01:07 > 0:01:10I mean, it was almost impossible to breathe.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Smoke started to bellow out from the roof
0:01:13 > 0:01:15and my fear was something in there was going to blow.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17What'll happen if the roof collapses
0:01:17 > 0:01:19or a brick wall falls down?
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Someone's going to get hurt.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27Some people think that the police are some anonymous robot out there.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32We're not. Back at home, my wife and my kids were scared.
0:01:32 > 0:01:33The first film in this series
0:01:33 > 0:01:37looked at what happened through the eyes of the rioters.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40This is the story of last summer's riots
0:01:40 > 0:01:44told by the police in their own words.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Saturday, 6th August.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Police helicopters flying over London relay alarming pictures
0:01:59 > 0:02:03of disturbance unfolding in Tottenham, North London.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Supt Roger Gomm orders riot police to be mobilised
0:02:09 > 0:02:13before heading to the control room at Lambeth.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Once I'd arrived, I checked that the service mobilise plan
0:02:18 > 0:02:21had been activated, you know, where are the resources?
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Are they there yet? Are they on their way?
0:02:23 > 0:02:26And it was at that stage someone actually piped up,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30"They're still on amber, sir. Would you like me to mobilise to red?"
0:02:31 > 0:02:34I think my prompt answer was "Yes, immediately."
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Two days earlier,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40the Metropolitan Police had shot dead a local man, Mark Duggan.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Protesters demanding an explanation for the family
0:02:46 > 0:02:49were angered by what they felt was a slow police response.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Peaceful at first, their demonstration turned nasty.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57On Tottenham High Road, Chief Inspector Ade Adelekan
0:02:57 > 0:02:59is now struggling to hold the line
0:02:59 > 0:03:01against an increasingly militant crowd.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08We're talking wheelie bins on fire.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09wheeled towards us.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12We're talking bottles from the off-licence down the road
0:03:12 > 0:03:15being and set alight being made into firebombs and thrown at us.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18I was calling for more backup.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21I asked for public order trained officers to be deployed
0:03:21 > 0:03:22as soon as they possibly could.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28The fuse had been lit for England's worst riots for a generation.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36I didn't necessarily have to go to Tottenham
0:03:36 > 0:03:39but I was one of the only ones that were public order trained,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43so I put my name up for it and said I wanted to go.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46It took us about 45 minutes on the blue light run
0:03:46 > 0:03:47to get to Stoke Newington.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50When we got there, we were told we have to go to Tottenham High Road
0:03:50 > 0:03:54to assist the officers that had been standing in front of the hostile crowd
0:03:54 > 0:03:55for two or three hours.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59We were the first officers to go there to help out.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02As we drove past the police station,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05somebody threw a brick which smashed our windscreen.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09At that point, it hit everybody in the bus that
0:04:09 > 0:04:13this is the real thing, and they potentially may die.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20The kit we were wearing, obviously, is very uncomfortable and it's very warm.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23It was hard to try to see what is going on in front of you.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28You were very hot and emotional at the same time.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32We were under attack by a very large crowd,
0:04:32 > 0:04:34throwing anything that was there.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37It was hard. It was very terrifying.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42We were using tactics that we were trained to go forward
0:04:42 > 0:04:43and backwards to disperse the crowd
0:04:43 > 0:04:47but the crowd was so hostile that they wouldn't be dispersed.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50At the Met's special operations room in Lambeth,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Roger Gomm has a bird's eye view.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56We've got the helicopter television downlink.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Then we can link into the thousands of cameras across London
0:04:59 > 0:05:03and actually we were able to see quite a lot of the disorder.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07They were coming under a fierce attack.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12And they were, initially,
0:05:12 > 0:05:17doing what we would call short shield advances to drive the crowd back.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19But, of course, if you go too far,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21and you've got a junction on your left or you're right,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25you could then expose yourself from attack from the rear
0:05:25 > 0:05:27or even to be surrounded.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30So, in effect, they were having to stand still
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and what became very obvious is that the crowd realised this,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35that the police weren't coming any further forward
0:05:35 > 0:05:37because there wasn't enough of them.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43The lack of officers dictated police tactics.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Without the manpower to make mass arrests,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48the priority was to disperse the rioters
0:05:48 > 0:05:53as best they could to enable fire engines to get to burning buildings.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00We didn't stand still or stand there and watch on,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03but at some point I had to make the difficult decision.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06It was life. It was always going to be life above property.
0:06:08 > 0:06:14At 11:30pm, a unit from Fulham arrives to relieve the frontline.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18The experience still haunts Inspector Andre Ramsay.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25We then got the nod to go forward up the road at the double.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29That meant running in full kit, helmet on, shield,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32running up a distance of around 800 metres.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37And as we got closer, we could make out the silhouettes of rioters.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41The noise then started to increased dramatically.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46And communication became much more challenging
0:06:46 > 0:06:48purely because of the noise.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50It was almost impossible to hear the radios.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57It was a possibility that we might get shot at,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01particularly if we were lured too far forward.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08And I also saw what appeared to be machetes being dangled down
0:07:08 > 0:07:10by the side of their legs.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15So that was sending out a very clear message to me
0:07:15 > 0:07:19that certainly if anybody got separated, you know,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22it could all come to a very grisly end.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35On our very first short shield run forward, I was knocked unconscious.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I don't know what hit me but it was clearly something extremely heavy.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42I mean, literally, the lights went out.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Get the medics down here! Quick!
0:07:46 > 0:07:51And the next thing I remember was being hauled up back onto my feet.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56I just shook my head, tried to regain my vision. And...
0:07:56 > 0:08:00there was no other option but to carry on.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02The biggest consideration I had, personally,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06was how long was this going to go on for? And how long would I last?
0:08:12 > 0:08:17The Chief Inspector operating on the High Road phoned me up
0:08:17 > 0:08:20to tell me they're exhausted, they need a break,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23is there any relief for them, is there any more resources coming?
0:08:23 > 0:08:25And I had to say to him, "Graham,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28"you're not going to get any more resources in the immediate future.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31"You've got what you've got, you're going to have to try to hold the high street."
0:08:31 > 0:08:34And he wasn't sure if I was telling him the truth.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36In fact, he said to me, "Are you joking?"
0:08:46 > 0:08:50They managed to get into the Pride Of Tottenham public house
0:08:50 > 0:08:53and anything you can imagine to be in a public house,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55that was been thrown at us.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59They'd managed to get chairs and tables out, frying pans.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01When they started throwing knives at us,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and that point I thought, "This is it.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07"You're going to get really badly injured."
0:09:07 > 0:09:11There were thousands of items coming at us. It was raining at us.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12It wasn't one at a time.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15You couldn't really concentrate on different angles
0:09:15 > 0:09:18because you knew it's coming from all different angles at you.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21And then something hit me on the left side of my head.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Next thing I remember,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37I've been dragged back towards the rear of the front line.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Behind the horses where all the engine officers were.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52The Aldi supermarket stands out in my mind because
0:09:52 > 0:09:56very soon after our arrival, they were forming up a baseline.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Smoke started to bellow out from the roof
0:09:58 > 0:10:01and it was almost impossible to breathe.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05We knew we couldn't fall back and we couldn't go forward.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Then there were enormous cracks
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and the sounds of small explosions coming from inside
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and my fear was something in there was going to blow,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17and what'll happen if the roof collapses
0:10:17 > 0:10:19or a brick wall falls down?
0:10:19 > 0:10:20Someone's going to get hurt.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28It was also at that point that we probably came under the most
0:10:28 > 0:10:31sustained bombardment throughout our whole time
0:10:31 > 0:10:33on Tottenham High Road.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Because the supermarket trolleys were being used by the rioters
0:10:37 > 0:10:41to stock up with bricks from a nearby building site
0:10:41 > 0:10:45and they're wheeling them around to their own front line
0:10:45 > 0:10:47and then using those as immediate replenishment.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58The police battle into the small hours to try to stem the turmoil
0:10:58 > 0:11:00as Tottenham High Road becomes an inferno.
0:11:17 > 0:11:18People wanted to hurt us.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20People wanted to hurt us really, really bad.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23And it was frightening for the officers.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25If I'm totally frank, it was frightening for me.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27I've never seen anything like it.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29I pray to God I never see anything like it again.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49When we got relieved, and this was about 2:30/3:00 in the morning,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52I was being checked over by one of the paramedics.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55We saw a guy running down the road with a massive plasma TV
0:11:55 > 0:11:59in his hands and at that point we realised that the retail park,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02which is literally next to where we stood, is being looted.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06With all the police tied up on Tottenham High Road,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10Tottenham Hale Retail Park has become a free-for-all.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14'The fucking police are retards. I can't believe
0:12:14 > 0:12:15'they're not even here yet.'
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Everybody tried to arrest people that they could arrest
0:12:19 > 0:12:21but a lot of people did get away,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23purely because their numbers were ten times,
0:12:23 > 0:12:2620 times more than our numbers.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28There is no way that you can arrest somebody at that point
0:12:28 > 0:12:30when you've got thousands of people in front of you,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32all committing the same offence.
0:12:39 > 0:12:438am, Sunday 7th August.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45The fires in Tottenham High Road
0:12:45 > 0:12:47have finally been brought under control.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Inspect Andre Ramsay is relieved
0:12:51 > 0:12:53after over eight hours on the front line.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I remember walking down Tottenham High Road
0:12:58 > 0:13:00and the place did look like a war zone.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04I, in fact, didn't get back to Fulham Police Station
0:13:04 > 0:13:07until 11 o'clock the following morning.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12And I got back to the yard there, totally covered in dust,
0:13:12 > 0:13:17debris, glass, ripped, my boots were actually cut open,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21only to be met by a chief inspector who quite happily asked me
0:13:21 > 0:13:24could I get back in for two o'clock that afternoon.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26BBC NEWS JINGLE
0:13:26 > 0:13:29'Police in North London have spent much of the night dealing
0:13:29 > 0:13:30'with rioting in Tottenham.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33'Buildings, police cars and a double-decker us were set alight
0:13:33 > 0:13:35'and shops were looted...'
0:13:35 > 0:13:38As the British public woke up to the aftermath of the riot,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40it was not just the rioters who were condemned.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Over the days that followed, the police would be roundly criticised
0:13:44 > 0:13:46for not acting more robustly.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51The perception was that the police had not done enough to stop
0:13:51 > 0:13:54homes and businesses from being looted and burned.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58We left the flat as the rioters were coming up the road.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00The buildings were on fire. We legged the flat.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04- We didn't see one police person. - The fire engines couldn't be there because the police weren't there.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06There was nobody there to protect us.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10The Met acknowledged they had been caught on the back foot.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13The big question now was could they contain it to Tottenham?
0:14:18 > 0:14:226pm, Sunday 7th August.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Croydon Borough Commander Adrian Roberts
0:14:25 > 0:14:28arrives in the operations room at Lambeth.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31He's got the job of directing the police strategy
0:14:31 > 0:14:32over the coming days.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35I remember coming into the control room
0:14:35 > 0:14:39and things were starting to happen across the London footprint
0:14:39 > 0:14:41that were already sucking us into action
0:14:41 > 0:14:46before we'd had a chance to properly have a handover and a debrief.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49We were straight into it, hitting the deck running.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Would-be rioters were using smartphones and the internet
0:14:51 > 0:14:53to try to organise more trouble.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Social networking sites and BlackBerries are awash
0:14:57 > 0:15:00with conflicting intelligence about where the next riot will be.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04The Met has insufficient expertise and technology to deal with it.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08The intelligence that was coming in, you know,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11at the rate of one piece of intelligence per second, you know,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15overwhelming, coming in. And I can remember saying, "Right,
0:15:15 > 0:15:18"I'll put one person with a box of intelligence that was coming in,"
0:15:18 > 0:15:20and saying, "You evaluate that intelligence."
0:15:20 > 0:15:22We can't just chase every piece of intelligence
0:15:22 > 0:15:26because we'd be even in a worse position than we were.
0:15:26 > 0:15:31The Met later acknowledged that their inability to monitor social media
0:15:31 > 0:15:33meant they could not get ahead of events.
0:15:38 > 0:15:408pm, Enfield.
0:15:44 > 0:15:45Police tackle the rioters
0:15:45 > 0:15:49but they are unable to bring the widespread chaos under control.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03No-one would have...
0:16:03 > 0:16:07could have understood or envisaged the sheer size
0:16:07 > 0:16:09and scale that we experienced.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14I defy anybody...to really have predicted that.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Rioting is now spreading across five London boroughs.
0:16:21 > 0:16:221am.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26WPC Alanna Harris is in a response team
0:16:26 > 0:16:29deployed from Kensington to Brixton.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33I don't think I'd ever been to Brixton before that night.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35I had no idea where I was.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Harris has had riot training but never had to use it.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44With disorder widespread across London, riot kit is in short supply.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52We were told, "Get your balaclavas on, get your NATO helmets on."
0:16:52 > 0:16:56My serial ended up with no shields.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58There wasn't enough.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01When they arrive, the retail park on Brixton's Effra Road
0:17:01 > 0:17:03is being ransacked.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11'Right, I can see people carrying 50 inch TVs on their heads and shit.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13'They can do this. It's mad!'
0:17:16 > 0:17:20There are still looters inside Currys electrical store.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24After a while, we noticed some hands appearing under the metal shutter
0:17:24 > 0:17:26that was open a foot and a half
0:17:26 > 0:17:29with one or two fire extinguishers.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34They set off the fire extinguishers for a short burst
0:17:34 > 0:17:38and this filled up the foyer with a smog.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44And pretty much before I knew it, people were coming out of this gap.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47One came straight towards me with a fire extinguisher.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50And just had it setting off straight in my face.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I was completely blinded by this.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56I think I just wiped it away as quickly as I could.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03As looters come out of the shop, the police descend and arrest them.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12But no sooner are they in custody than the police come under attack
0:18:12 > 0:18:15from another mob that has rounded the corner.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18They are outnumbered.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24My inspector just shouted, "Everybody get out, now! Get out!"
0:18:24 > 0:18:26I said I'll jump on the van.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31The driver then...
0:18:31 > 0:18:36um, employed a tactic that is to actually reverse at the group
0:18:36 > 0:18:38so he started actually reversing.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40And I was quite shocked at this, like,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44we're going towards them, not away from them, um...
0:18:46 > 0:18:49And he kept doing this backwards and forwards,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52backwards and forwards, and he said afterwards
0:18:52 > 0:18:55he was just getting massive thumbs up from our colleagues.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Um, and realised that this was working.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07As we exited the car park, the van was getting constantly pelted.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10The female prisoner was screaming her head off.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14She was massively scared. But I was just forcing her down,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17very scared that something's going to fly straight through
0:19:17 > 0:19:20that window and crack her on the head.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22The adrenaline was going through all of us.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24The thing that probably scared me the most
0:19:24 > 0:19:26was that the side door was about to fly open.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29And someone's going to come in and drag me off.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32And then, totally unbeknownst to me,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35a brick had actually come through the window
0:19:35 > 0:19:39and had very nearly caught me on the head right at the front of the van.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43But it meant we had a hole in our back doors.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46My colleague was holding a kind of handle
0:19:46 > 0:19:48to try to keep these doors shut.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51He then screamed, "I'm being attacked!"
0:19:51 > 0:19:55And what has happened is this machete has just appeared
0:19:55 > 0:19:56through this hole in the window
0:19:56 > 0:19:58and just started hacking at his hand.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02He was wearing public order gloves
0:20:02 > 0:20:04and this basically pretty much saved his hand.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09At West End Central police station,
0:20:09 > 0:20:14WPC Harris tries to find out what has motivated the rioters.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18One male that I arrested from Effra Road
0:20:18 > 0:20:20when we were sat in the custody suite,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23I don't know how the conversation started as such
0:20:23 > 0:20:27but it was, you know, "What were you doing there, what were you doing?"
0:20:29 > 0:20:34And he had quite clearly come out from Currys and yet he still said,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37"You shouldn't have killed Duggan."
0:20:39 > 0:20:41And I kind of turned to him and said,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43"But you were burgling a shop."
0:20:43 > 0:20:45And it just seemed to me that they were
0:20:45 > 0:20:48so fixated on this Duggan being the reason.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54But why would you burgle an electrical store
0:20:54 > 0:20:57because police officers have shot a man?
0:20:59 > 0:21:04And the girl who we'd arrested, she had a four-month-old baby
0:21:04 > 0:21:08which she was obviously very worried about getting back to, fair enough.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11But there must be something...
0:21:13 > 0:21:17To leave a four-month-old baby to go and take the risk of burgling
0:21:17 > 0:21:23from a superstore, from Currys... I don't know, there must've been something so strong in there
0:21:23 > 0:21:27that just thought they'd all get away with it.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Why can't we?
0:21:33 > 0:21:37When I got home, I'd been awake for over 24 hours.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40I'd only had one proper meal.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46I'd probably drank maybe two bottles of water and the adrenaline
0:21:46 > 0:21:51had kept me going and I got home and just pretty much fell apart.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Monday, 8th August, 12:30am.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Following the second night of violence, acting Met Commissioner
0:22:03 > 0:22:09Tim Godwin increases the number of police on the streets to 6,000.
0:22:09 > 0:22:121,700 more than the previous night.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14I have a lot of very brave officers
0:22:14 > 0:22:17ho will continue to police this city.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Just give us the space now to deal with the people that are doing it.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24By late afternoon, riot police are stationed in many
0:22:24 > 0:22:26of the city's likely trouble-spots
0:22:26 > 0:22:28with increased powers of stop and search.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35But Godwin would later face criticism for not mobilising more officers.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41When you're planning a police operation, there is a cost involved.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Whether they're working overtime or more importantly for me,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48you've taken them away from their local boroughs
0:22:48 > 0:22:51to police an event somewhere else so there's always a cost involved.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56As evening approaches, all of London is on high alert.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Sutton Commander Guy Ferguson fears his borough may be next.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Young people and members of the public were coming up to us,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07and some of them were quite excited
0:23:07 > 0:23:09about what they thought was going to happen.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12They'd say, "You know there's going to be disorder in Sutton tonight?
0:23:12 > 0:23:15"We've got it on Facebook, we've got it on Twitter,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18"this is what's happening on our BlackBerries."
0:23:18 > 0:23:21It was quite obvious to me that there's real potential for disorder.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Later on in the evening, the mood of the crowd really changed.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33Some of them were pulling up scarves and pulling down hoods
0:23:33 > 0:23:38and I thought, "This is the prelude to something really rather nasty."
0:23:38 > 0:23:41I was absolutely determined it wasn't going to happen in my bit
0:23:41 > 0:23:44of London and so at that point I took a decision
0:23:44 > 0:23:45to disperse the crowd.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49So I gathered together the officers that I had,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52formed them in a line across the high street
0:23:52 > 0:23:56and moved down from south to north down the slope of the high street.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06The men and women that I had with me
0:24:06 > 0:24:08were in their ordinary beat duty uniform.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10They are not public order equipped,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14they weren't specialist public order people at all.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23I got the officers to get their batons out and hold them
0:24:23 > 0:24:25above their heads by way of a show of strength
0:24:25 > 0:24:29so that people realised that we were the police
0:24:29 > 0:24:33and we were going to take control of the situation and we were in charge.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Ferguson's decisive action stopped any would-be rioters
0:24:38 > 0:24:39in their tracks.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44But other parts of London aren't going to be that easy.
0:24:47 > 0:24:524:30pm, Hackney. It's one of London's poorest boroughs.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Fight the feds, fight the feds. Fight all the feds.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Some people here hold a deeper animosity to the police.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08A stop and search caught on film ignites an already angry crowd.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Don't fucking try to express my role. What the fuck is wrong with you?
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Local rector Rob Wickham saw the aftermath.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18There's an extraordinary sense that you feel just before a storm breaks.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21It felt very heavy and very oppressive.
0:25:21 > 0:25:22Something was going to happen.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26And in the end there was an altercation between a member
0:25:26 > 0:25:28of the police force and someone else who was there,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31there was a slight scuffle but that's all it took.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37In the thick of it is Special Constable Michael Lewis,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39an unpaid police volunteer.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46When it all kicked off, that was one of my first ever shifts
0:25:46 > 0:25:50and I'm like, "God, what do I do?" Cos I don't know what to do.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53SHOUTING
0:25:56 > 0:25:57It wasn't nice.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02You can tell the difference between someone driving past in a car
0:26:02 > 0:26:05full of youths shouting, "Fucking pigs!"
0:26:05 > 0:26:09and someone shouting at you in your face in line,
0:26:09 > 0:26:10"You're a fucking pig."
0:26:12 > 0:26:15It was venomous, that's what made it scary.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23I remember seeing our car being trashed. It was crazy.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32They had control at that point and I think a lot of them knew that.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40What happened in Hackney took the disorder to a new level.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Here, looting was a sideshow
0:26:41 > 0:26:45and the police themselves are the target for the community's anger.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Firstly, I heard a colleague shout, "Get your baton out, get your baton out!"
0:26:52 > 0:26:57And I'm fumbling around with this new equipment. All the pouches
0:26:57 > 0:27:00tight on my baton and I couldn't quite get it out
0:27:00 > 0:27:03cos I was like, "Argh! What the...?" I've never had to use it before.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Reinforcements arrive including a dog unit
0:27:13 > 0:27:15commanded by Sergeant Pete Madden
0:27:15 > 0:27:17who has served in the Met for 30 years.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23So we're arriving at a very, very hostile situation.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27And we just immediately deploy from our dog van and we assist
0:27:27 > 0:27:31the units that are already trying to disperse these rioters away.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42People don't come that close to the dogs and that's fine
0:27:42 > 0:27:44cos the dogs aren't there to become close to.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46They're there to drive people away.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Tell them to move. They're on camera.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Some people might tend to argue with a police officer.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54If a 40 kilo German Shepherd is running down the road at them,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57they'll tend not to argue and perhaps disperse.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Our visors get steamed up, it's hard to see,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07it's very, very hard to hear.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Radio's going on a lot, the helicopter noise, alarms, shouting.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15CAR ALARM
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Adding to their difficulties, it's hard to distinguish
0:28:18 > 0:28:22between rioters and people who have come along for entertainment.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Best day ever. This is Hackney for you.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34Get me some alcohol. Go and get me some alcohol.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Generally I assume if they're masked up and hiding their identity,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42that they're intent on engaging in criminal behaviour
0:28:42 > 0:28:43and others are just there
0:28:43 > 0:28:46like it's some sort of sightseeing festival,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48like there's gladiators in the Colosseum.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55I don't know if the person who stands to one side is perfectly innocent
0:28:55 > 0:28:56or if he's someone
0:28:56 > 0:28:59who's going to launch a brick at the back of my head the minute we've gone past.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04We are getting all sorts of verbal abuse.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I'm less bothered about that because that isn't going to hurt me,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10that isn't going to crack my skull open,
0:29:10 > 0:29:12that's not going to break my leg.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16It's missiles, that's what I'm worried about.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21There's petrol bombs being thrown, there's bricks being thrown.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25There was a lorry that had tried to drive through the crowds
0:29:25 > 0:29:29but had got stopped and smashed up and that was carrying wood.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33That was just like a truckload of ammunition.
0:29:33 > 0:29:39Radio said that they were taping Stanley knives to wood to throw
0:29:39 > 0:29:41and making spears.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50You could potentially be severely injured or even worse.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55I can't explain how scary that was.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00And all I remember is seeing a brick come over the barricades.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05It hit the floor, split in two, bounced up and whacked me straight in the eye.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09It's not just tapped me, this has really smacked me in the face.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11And I remember a medic being shouted,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13but I knew that we were outnumbered
0:30:13 > 0:30:16and there was not enough police officers there
0:30:16 > 0:30:21and I'm thinking, "All I've got is a black eye and a bit of blood,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24"I can still do this job. I don't need to go."
0:30:24 > 0:30:26What use am I if I go and sit in a hospital bed,
0:30:26 > 0:30:31especially when there's people who probably need to go to hospital.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33And I refused to go.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35- POLICE:- Keep moving!
0:30:35 > 0:30:39The police go on the offensive in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44I saw a bottle bank that had been upturned
0:30:44 > 0:30:47and a hell of a lot of those bottles were thrown at us.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01They managed to move the mob on but they regroup on Clarence Road
0:31:01 > 0:31:03near Hackney's sprawling Pembury estate,
0:31:03 > 0:31:05notorious for its armed gangs.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09There was a real kind of build-up of testosterone.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13You had people from the police who were just as pumped up
0:31:13 > 0:31:15as the rioters were pumped up.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24On one level it's kind of like watching stags fighting,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27in terms of the level of intensity about what was going on.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Police now find themselves on the rioters' territory.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53There's a huge crowd, probably a couple of hundred.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57Rival street gangs have agreed a temporary truce
0:31:57 > 0:31:59to fight their common enemy, the police.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04There was a lot of chatter on social media and BlackBerry messaging
0:32:04 > 0:32:07about people looking to kill a police officer.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13For Madden, it brings back chilling memories.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17I was on duty the night that Keith Blakelock was murdered in Tottenham
0:32:17 > 0:32:20and I heard his serial screaming for help on the radio.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23One of the most haunting things I've ever heard.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25It could have happened to us that night.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29Police push forward to clear the area.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34But just as they seem to have control of the road,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36they're ordered to withdraw.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45Some of my officers were quite dispirited by that.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49They'd achieved something. There was a risk to them in doing so,
0:32:49 > 0:32:53but we'd been effective and we'd done a good job.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57They weren't really understanding quite why we were being pulled back
0:32:57 > 0:33:02and not retaining possession of the ground that we'd won, effectively.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Fearing the presence of firearms,
0:33:05 > 0:33:08the unit has been pulled back for its own safety.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16The Met has not just got Hackney to worry about.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20Disorder is now breaking out in 22 London boroughs.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25At Lambeth, Commander Adrian Roberts struggles to effectively deploy
0:33:25 > 0:33:28the 6,000 officers he has at his disposal.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32I had Post-it Notes on one wall representing each borough.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36I had an instruction that said anyone who gets any information about the borough,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39write it on a Post-it and overlay the one in front of it.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41That's what we had on that wall. On the other wall
0:33:41 > 0:33:45we had the 70 or 80 PSUs,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48which is a group of 25 public order police officers.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52We had them on there trying to track a map where they were around London.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55As riot police are posted to the worst trouble spots,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59some areas are left with no riot-trained officers.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02In Roberts' own borough of Croydon,
0:34:02 > 0:34:06there is a shortage of police that will have devastating consequences.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12BlackBerry messages sent between the rioters and seen by police
0:34:12 > 0:34:15show that Croydon is a possible target.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20There would have been snippets of intelligence.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25Remember, not all the stuff that's out there on social media is what's going to happen.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29We didn't have any clue that Croydon was going to feature in the way that it did,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33but then the scale jumped and quite quickly turned on a sixpence.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39We started getting people coming to the station with throw-away comments
0:34:39 > 0:34:41such as, "Has it started yet?"
0:34:41 > 0:34:45People coming up to me saying, "I've got this message on my phone
0:34:45 > 0:34:47"saying it's going to kick off in Croydon."
0:34:49 > 0:34:51In the absence of Croydon's riot-trained units,
0:34:51 > 0:34:56British Transport Police step into the breach alongside local beat officers.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04As I exited the station, we saw about 200 people rushing past
0:35:04 > 0:35:08along the London Road and down towards the bottom of the hill.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12I'm not a public order officer myself.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14I'm literally a neighbourhood police officer.
0:35:14 > 0:35:20I don't have a stack of helmets and shields and protective clothing.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22I literally went out with what I had on.
0:35:25 > 0:35:26As I walked out,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30I can remember the air crackling with static,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33static electricity. It was quite...
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Literally the hairs on the back of your neck would stand on end.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42And there were hundreds and hundreds of people in the road.
0:35:43 > 0:35:48There was a collection of perhaps a dozen police officers
0:35:48 > 0:35:50at the top of the hill.
0:35:50 > 0:35:57And people in the roadway started to put on balaclavas and face coverings.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00Oh. Oh dear.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04We've got trouble. We were clearly hopelessly outnumbered.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14The mob starts to hijack vehicles along London Road,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16even pulling a driver from his moped.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21In the rioters' hands, vehicles now become weapons.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28At first there was a couple of young lads on a moped
0:36:28 > 0:36:31and they came right up to the police lines.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34In my opinion, they were counting us.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37They stood there for a few seconds, counted us,
0:36:37 > 0:36:41span round and went back into the crowd at the bottom of the hill.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44And then the whole crowd began marching up the road
0:36:44 > 0:36:47with this four-door saloon car as a figurehead.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50As it approached, it came through at full speed,
0:36:50 > 0:36:53straight at police lines. There was no intention to scare us.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55They were trying to run is over.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59That was absolutely without a shadow of a doubt attempted murder.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03If we had not jumped when we did, it would have killed one of us.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07So that was quite terrifying. Quite terrifying.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10Plus the fact that in the back of your mind,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14once the car had driven at us once, who's to say there isn't another car?
0:37:16 > 0:37:19Every time we heard a vehicle approaching
0:37:19 > 0:37:23we were shouting out a warning from all angles. "Vehicle! Vehicle!"
0:37:24 > 0:37:28I got a text message from my wife quite early on
0:37:28 > 0:37:33almost jokingly saying, "You're not at West Croydon by any chance, are you?"
0:37:33 > 0:37:36I literally had enough time to say, "Yes, but I'm safe."
0:37:40 > 0:37:45As dusk approaches, rioters across London vent their anger
0:37:45 > 0:37:48not just on the police but on their own communities.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57In Hackney, bystanders watch in horror
0:37:57 > 0:38:00as rioters start to set fire to their neighbourhood.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07About 10 or 12 people on bicycles with their balaclavas up
0:38:07 > 0:38:10who were just circling around, waiting for the next chance.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14You could see people making petrol bombs with their balaclavas up,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16then these would be thrown.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20What really frightened me was the absolute intensity
0:38:20 > 0:38:22of trying to set fire to the shops,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25even though there were people living above them.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30The police still stationed in Hackney head back into the Pembury Estate,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33from which they had been withdrawn because of the danger.
0:38:33 > 0:38:38My officers would rather get hurt going forward than going back.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41There's pops from the various cars. Some of those are tyres.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44We're concerned about petrol tanks going.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47It's too dangerous to get the fire brigade up there.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50We haven't got the situation under control.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54We've now got to get people out of their homes
0:38:54 > 0:38:57because we're fearful that these cars are going to explode
0:38:57 > 0:39:00and people are going to be injured in their homes.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04In other boroughs, the same scenes are playing out
0:39:04 > 0:39:08as rioters start fires indiscriminately.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15At Lambeth, Commander Adrian Roberts can see rioters
0:39:15 > 0:39:19set fire to vehicles and buildings in his own borough.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Among the targets is a local landmark,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32the 140-year-old Reeves furniture store.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36'I've seen nothing like this in my life ever.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40'This is... Jesus Christ. This is absolutely crazy.'
0:39:43 > 0:39:46I was brought up in the area. I was married in Croydon.
0:39:46 > 0:39:51My wife was upset. She was in tears because this is where we grew up.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55Reeves Corner was where we bought our first sofa.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58The fires ripping through Croydon will become the worst in the city,
0:39:58 > 0:40:03but in some parts of Croydon until the fire brigade arrives,
0:40:03 > 0:40:07the transport police and local officers have to deal with them on their own.
0:40:07 > 0:40:12One incident earned Sergeant Paul Crouch and fellow officers a commendation.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15There's a block of flats next door to this burning building.
0:40:15 > 0:40:20Everyone was saying, "There could be people in that building. We need to get to that junction quickly."
0:40:22 > 0:40:27And the flames by now are starting to lick the outside of the building.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29If somebody was trapped up the top there,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32who do they look to to save them?
0:40:32 > 0:40:34They look to the police, the fire brigade.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37We were the only ones there so it had to be our job to do it.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41We were pressing all the buzzers on the door entry system
0:40:41 > 0:40:43and we weren't getting many responses.
0:40:43 > 0:40:48There was a young Metropolitan Police Special Constable,
0:40:48 > 0:40:50very polite, pressing the buzzers.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52"I'm very sorry. You're going to have to leave."
0:40:52 > 0:40:54People weren't responding.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57He said, "I can't get in. I can't open the door."
0:40:57 > 0:41:01I said, "Break the window. Break the window. This is life and death."
0:41:01 > 0:41:04You could see he wasn't sure about doing that so I did it.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11Inside, residents hear the break-in but don't realise it's the police.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14We could hear sounds.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19We thought it's the guys who had gained access to the building,
0:41:19 > 0:41:23so we reinforced our doors to close it tighter.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25There were nine flats in there on three floors.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27We went through knocking on all the doors.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32Lo and behold, there was a couple of people asleep, totally oblivious to what was going on.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35We could hear footsteps coming up
0:41:35 > 0:41:38and then we heard a loud bang on our door and it was the police,
0:41:38 > 0:41:43running up the steps frantically trying to bang on each door to say,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46"Fire, fire! We need to come out."
0:41:46 > 0:41:49Some people are reluctant because they knew what was happening.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53We woke one poor chap up who'd been working nights, totally oblivious to everything.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57He was very grateful. He said, "What is all this about?" He was really angry.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00"You've knocked on my door!" He got out the front and saw it
0:42:00 > 0:42:05and he went... I won't say what he said but he swore loudly and then went,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07"Thank you, thank you, thank you."
0:42:10 > 0:42:13He was brave enough to say, "I'm going to rescue these people.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16"I'm going to tell them what's happening
0:42:16 > 0:42:18"because clearly they're not aware
0:42:18 > 0:42:20"that the fire is spreading to their building."
0:42:22 > 0:42:23He saved our lives.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29Over the hours that follow, the crisis in London deepens.
0:42:29 > 0:42:35Desperately short of manpower, the police are repeatedly driven back.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38It's now a national emergency.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Facing total breakdown of law and order,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09some borough commanders call for baton rounds or rubber bullets,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11which have never been used on mainland Britain.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15It was the gold commander's decision not to deploy them.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17I can fully understand his rationale for that.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21It was based on his fear that the situation would escalate.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24You're basically deploying firearms onto the streets of London
0:43:24 > 0:43:26to deal with disorder.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Puffs of smoke come out of the gun
0:43:31 > 0:43:33and it looks like we're firing guns at rioters.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36How would that have gone down in the media?
0:43:36 > 0:43:39With the general public, would we have lost support?
0:43:39 > 0:43:41More worryingly,
0:43:41 > 0:43:44would firearms have been used by rioters towards the police?
0:43:47 > 0:43:51During the course of the night, police make over 300 arrests,
0:43:51 > 0:43:56but many rioters escape for the simple reason that there is nowhere to put them.
0:43:56 > 0:44:01We stopped a car that was quite literally full of weapons.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05They've got baseball bats and crowbars
0:44:05 > 0:44:09and a whole assortment of really vicious weapons.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14So it was great having them and we've got them...
0:44:15 > 0:44:19..but were there any cells left in London?
0:44:19 > 0:44:21Absolutely not.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27So someone in authority had made a decision
0:44:27 > 0:44:30that we were to seize the weapons,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33record the details of the individuals,
0:44:33 > 0:44:36and release them to be dealt with on another day.
0:44:37 > 0:44:42Towards four in the morning the rioting across London finally subsides.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45When we got back in the vehicle,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49we took off any high visibility clothing to identify us as police
0:44:49 > 0:44:51and we took all the back streets
0:44:51 > 0:44:54and we kept out of trouble as best we could.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58When I got home, despite the fact that I absolutely stunk of smoke,
0:44:58 > 0:45:02I was covered in dirt and brick dust and dripping with sweat,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05my wife gave me a big hug and said well done.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09And that's when it sort of hits home a little bit.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11I'm quite lucky here. Quite lucky I got out of that.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16- NEWSREADER:- Prime Minister David Cameron has cut short his holiday
0:45:16 > 0:45:20and returned to Downing Street to take charge of the crisis.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24During the early hours of Tuesday morning,
0:45:24 > 0:45:28politicians and senior police officers arrive in the capital.
0:45:29 > 0:45:30We had to come back to London
0:45:30 > 0:45:33so I left, very early hours of Tuesday morning
0:45:33 > 0:45:37and was available of course to attend the first Cabinet Office Briefing Room
0:45:37 > 0:45:40chaired by the Prime Minister on the Tuesday morning.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45It was, as one would expect, pretty tense.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Quite rightly the Government was saying, "Why aren't you doing more?"
0:45:48 > 0:45:53Following the Government meeting, acting Met Commissioner Tim Godwin
0:45:53 > 0:45:57promises an additional 10,000 officers to police the capital.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01Many people questioned why he had not provided them sooner.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09It struck me that the scaling-up was proportionate.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13If the Commissioner had over-prescribed what he required
0:46:13 > 0:46:18and the Metropolitan Police Authority received a substantial bill from other forces,
0:46:18 > 0:46:21they would have asked him what he thought he was doing.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24It's a very difficult balance to make because whatever you do,
0:46:24 > 0:46:27probably you're going to get it wrong to some degree.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33With 16,000 officers, many brought in from other forces,
0:46:33 > 0:46:39now policing London, the riots in the capital are finally brought to a full stop.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43But rioting has now spread to other English cities.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52In Liverpool, children as young as ten are caught up in the rampage,
0:46:52 > 0:46:56as crowds attack police vehicles and loot shops.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05Argh! Liverpool rule the riots!
0:47:05 > 0:47:09In Manchester, senior police officers fear the worst.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18Tuesday, August 9th,
0:47:18 > 0:47:23watching the streets from police headquarters is Federation rep Ian Hanson.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29I went into the control room around four o'clock that afternoon
0:47:29 > 0:47:32and I could see on the monitors that we had a significant number
0:47:32 > 0:47:34of people making their way into the city centre.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39My real serious concern as I saw the build-up of numbers
0:47:39 > 0:47:42and I saw what was an incredibly thin blue line was
0:47:42 > 0:47:45a police officer is going to get seriously hurt if not killed tonight.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53As in other parts of the country, Greater Manchester Police
0:47:53 > 0:47:57say they were overwhelmed that night by the scale and nature of the disorder.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00The extreme lawlessness they faced
0:48:00 > 0:48:04and the tactics they used to deal with it would spark national debate.
0:48:04 > 0:48:05Keep away!
0:48:09 > 0:48:14Anticipating trouble in Salford, GMP sent elite squads of riot-trained officers
0:48:14 > 0:48:16to the precinct and nearby estates.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22There were a group of young lads just behind us here
0:48:22 > 0:48:25who were wearing hoodies with stones in their hands
0:48:25 > 0:48:30and then lots of residents started coming out to find out why the police had arrived.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34There was no actual rioting occurring at that time.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36The police try to disperse the troublemakers
0:48:36 > 0:48:38but full-scale rioting now breaks out.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Very quickly it escalated.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53For almost two hours, police now come under fierce attack.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58Overwhelmed and on unfamiliar territory,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01the unit commander makes a tactical decision to withdraw.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07The commander in charge of the operation in Salford
0:49:07 > 0:49:10had to withdraw police officers from the patch
0:49:10 > 0:49:13purely to ensure that nobody was seriously hurt or killed.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20That's a big thing for the police of Greater Manchester to have to withdraw.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22It's a really significant step.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26Salford precinct is now left in the hands of the rioters.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30At that point people really started to let rip.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34I just saw half a dozen young lads in hoodies
0:49:34 > 0:49:39and they were running out over the barriers, jumped across.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41They saw the BBC car.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44They rocked it and tipped it over.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50And then they set it on fire.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56There were a lot of young lads then running around.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58There were cars on fire at Lidl.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02They set fire to part of the marketplace.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05They had things like hammers and bits of wood
0:50:05 > 0:50:08and they were trying to break into the shops and steal the goods.
0:50:10 > 0:50:15Unable to regain control of the area, GMP call for outside help.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20Seven neighbouring forces send back-up,
0:50:20 > 0:50:24among them a unit of 25 riot police from Cheshire.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30Coming in the daylight, all of a sudden it went quite black
0:50:30 > 0:50:33because there was a lot of buildings, vehicles on fire.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Immediately on getting out of the van, you could feel the tension.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Most of the shops along Salford precinct had been looted at this point.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50Our specific task we were told was to protect the fire brigade
0:50:50 > 0:50:53and the Salford precinct market area from attack.
0:50:53 > 0:50:58We wanted to create a buffer zone so they can't get hit by the missiles
0:50:58 > 0:51:01so they can do their work.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04While GMP riot squads conduct a roving patrol,
0:51:04 > 0:51:08the Cheshire unit of 25 officers is left to hold the precinct on its own.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13They come under intense attack.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19Shields are obviously impacting. They're large stones and rocks.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21They could do a lot of damage.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23'That is a big rock.'
0:51:23 > 0:51:25They were getting quite close to the shields at points.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29At some points they're able to run up with rocks, boulders,
0:51:29 > 0:51:34you know, bits of masonry that you can throw from a couple of metres.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38You can see their face, you can hear what they're saying.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41They obviously want to do you some serious harm.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50We don't know at this point. Are GMP in a position to come and assist us?
0:51:54 > 0:51:57One of the serial sergeants has gone down.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00Somebody's hit him with a metre-long scaffolding bar
0:52:00 > 0:52:03or something very similar to that. There's a kind of cheer.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05CHEERING
0:52:05 > 0:52:09Seven or eight of the crowd surged forward.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12I was frightened. Who wouldn't be frightened?
0:52:12 > 0:52:17I certainly was frightened because at this point you don't know how things are going to escalate.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Fortunately, the officers move forward to protect him.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25I dread to think what would happen if they hadn't.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Would I have struck somebody?
0:52:33 > 0:52:36Of course I would. If somebody was trying to hurt a colleague
0:52:36 > 0:52:40or potentially do him serious damage, then of course I would.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police
0:52:44 > 0:52:47are stretched between Salford and the city centre.
0:52:52 > 0:52:57Specialist anti-gang units break up the mob and arrest key suspects.
0:52:57 > 0:53:02GMP's hard-line approach was welcomed by many members of the public.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06But one incident posted on YouTube
0:53:06 > 0:53:11showed police hitting youths with their batons away from the riot.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14There was no complaint from anyone involved
0:53:14 > 0:53:15and the officers were not censured.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19It polarised public opinion.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22Police officers can use reasonable force.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24That begs the question
0:53:24 > 0:53:28that when we're seeing probably the most serious disorder for years
0:53:28 > 0:53:32in Greater Manchester, what is reasonable force?
0:53:36 > 0:53:41We heard this phrase at the time from our political leaders that they want to see robust policing.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46We asked the question at the time, what is robust policing?
0:53:46 > 0:53:48Police officers are confused.
0:53:49 > 0:53:55In the past, we've seen where police officers have engaged robustly
0:53:55 > 0:53:58with people involved in riot and disorder situations,
0:53:58 > 0:54:04yet the next day members of the media and other agencies
0:54:04 > 0:54:08have picked apart minutely every decision they've made
0:54:08 > 0:54:10and every decision to use force.
0:54:10 > 0:54:15There has to be an acknowledgement that police officers will do their best,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18but in a difficult and dangerous situation like that
0:54:18 > 0:54:22they need to have the confidence that the political masters
0:54:22 > 0:54:25and senior officers will support them.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30By the early hours of the fifth day, police in Manchester
0:54:30 > 0:54:33and other cities have regained control of the streets.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40England's summer riots had finally run their course.
0:54:42 > 0:54:43Following the riots,
0:54:43 > 0:54:46police move swiftly to arrest thousands of suspects,
0:54:46 > 0:54:50many of whom were identified from CCTV.
0:54:56 > 0:54:57At the height of the rioting,
0:54:57 > 0:55:02this had been impossible as the lack of officers had constrained tactics.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06They had been limited to dispersing rioters
0:55:06 > 0:55:09rather than meeting the public demand
0:55:09 > 0:55:12for overwhelming force and mass arrests.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18A barrage of criticism was levelled at the police,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20in the press and at Westminster,
0:55:20 > 0:55:23for their failure to prevent the riots.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26What became increasingly clear earlier this week
0:55:26 > 0:55:30was that there was simply far too few police deployed onto our streets
0:55:30 > 0:55:33and the tactics they were using weren't working.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39It's always interesting when politicians become experts in police tactics.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42It's easy to pass judgements. What would they like us to do?
0:55:45 > 0:55:48Let's see you put the public order kit on.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52Let's see you experience what it's really like to be behind a shield.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59We don't have standing armies of public order trained officers
0:55:59 > 0:56:01like they do in some parts of the continent.
0:56:01 > 0:56:06Our public order cops are the cop that was driving the area car in Bromley,
0:56:06 > 0:56:10or driving the area car in Wandsworth the day before.
0:56:13 > 0:56:18Official reports following the riots acknowledged that police tactics were hampered by inadequate numbers,
0:56:18 > 0:56:22that they should sometimes have intervened more promptly and assertively,
0:56:22 > 0:56:24and that intelligence was flawed.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30But they all praised the bravery of the officers on the frontline.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34You don't know what's going to happen.
0:56:34 > 0:56:38There's a gang of people there
0:56:38 > 0:56:40and there's more of them than there are of you.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46You can't, you can't explain how...
0:56:46 > 0:56:49I can't explain how scary that was.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57We were lucky not to lose one of us and that does make you think,
0:56:57 > 0:57:00"What have I just been involved in? What did I witness?
0:57:00 > 0:57:04"What did I just play a part in?"
0:57:04 > 0:57:09So, yes, when you really think about it, it's scary.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14Over the next couple of days we were seeing the newspapers and things
0:57:14 > 0:57:17and other colleagues go, "Were you actually there?"
0:57:17 > 0:57:21"Yeah." "It looked terrible." I said, "I didn't have time to think."
0:57:22 > 0:57:26When you first turn on the news channels and you see the scale of it,
0:57:26 > 0:57:29I remember saying, "Look, that's where we were."
0:57:29 > 0:57:32I looked at it and I thought, "Oh, my God. I was there."
0:57:35 > 0:57:40When I got up on Tuesday afternoon and rang the office I was told I didn't need to be in till six
0:57:40 > 0:57:45and I had the opportunity to take my dog out for a walk in the park.
0:57:45 > 0:57:50It was almost bizarre in that this was the first quiet time that I'd had
0:57:50 > 0:57:54when no one was trying to kill me. It was nice.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57The park was normal but it seemed bizarre
0:57:57 > 0:58:02because I'd spent the best part of 40 hours under threat,
0:58:02 > 0:58:08under missile attack, and looking after my team of officers.
0:58:12 > 0:58:16Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd