Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Six Arrested as Police Use Batons and Horses to Contain Bristol Protest Clashes

Police describe their use of batons with mounted units as proportionate, with a debrief to follow.

Overview

  • About 40 people marching under the 'Bristol Patriots' banner were confronted by roughly 200 counter-protesters linked to Stand Up To Racism in the city centre.
  • Officers formed human walls, blocked Union Street with vans, and deployed mounted units, with police reporting resistance and projectiles thrown.
  • Video and eyewitness accounts showed mounted officers pushing crowds before officers on foot struck counter-protesters on the legs to clear space.
  • The march repeatedly stalled near Primark and the Horsefair before police redirected it back to the Cenotaph, where both groups dispersed at roughly 3:30pm.
  • Avon and Somerset Police reported six arrests for alleged public-order and related offences, deployed more than 200 officers with mutual aid, and said investigations into the incidents will proceed.