{{short description|Riot in London}} {{Use British English|date=October 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}} {{Infobox civil conflict | title = 1985 Brixton riot and Shooting of Cherry Groce | partof = | image = | caption = | date = 28–30 September 1985 | place = [[London Borough of Lambeth|Borough of Lambeth]], [[South London]] | coordinates = | causes = Police raid and shooting of Cherry Groce | goals = | methods = | status = | result = | side1 = Rioters | side2 = [[Metropolitan Police]] | side3 = | leadfigures1 = Cherry Groce<br>[[Michael Groce]] | leadfigures2 = DAC Richard Wells | leadfigures3 = | howmany1 = | howmany2 = | howmany3 = | casualties1 = 43 injured | casualties2 = 10 injured | casualties3 = | fatalities = [[Photo-journalist]] David Hodge | injuries = 53 | arrests = 200 | detentions = | charged = | fined = | casualties_label = | notes = }} The '''Brixton riot''' of 1985 started on 28 September in [[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]] in [[South London]]. It was the second major riot that the area had witnessed in the space of four years, [[1981 Brixton riot|the last in 1981]]. It was sparked by the shooting of Dorothy "Cherry" Groce by the [[Metropolitan Police]], while they sought her 21-year-old son [[Michael Groce]] in relation to a robbery and suspected firearms offence; they believed Michael Groce was hiding in his mother's home.<ref name=BBC2540397/><ref name=GuardArch85Brix/>
After two days of riots, [[photo-journalist]] David Hodge had died, 43 civilians and 10 police officers were hurt. Amongst a number of fires, one building had been destroyed, 55 cars had been burnt out, and 58 burglaries had been committed including acts of [[looting]].<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/>
In March 2014, the police apologised for the wrongful shooting of Mrs Groce.<ref name=BBC26698542/> In July of the same year, an inquest jury concluded that eight separate police failures had contributed to Mrs Groce's death, for which the then Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police [[Bernard Hogan-Howe|Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe]] subsequently "apologised unreservedly for our failings" to the family.<ref name=BBC28248588/>
==Background== Some of the community of Lambeth, after the [[1981 Brixton riot]], did not trust the [[Metropolitan Police]], with many people, especially from [[African-Caribbean]] population, upset about the alleged [[institutional racism]] of the police force.<ref name=BBC2540397/>
Twenty-one-year-old [[Michael Groce]] was one of six children born to Dorothy "Cherry" Groce, who had migrated to the area from [[Jamaica]] when she was in her early teens. From age six much of his life was spent in [[residential care]], brought up in Tinworth House, on a rough [[housing estate]] in [[Vauxhall]].<ref name=BBC3706789/> Michael was involved with [[street gang]]s, and had been exposed to guns during his childhood.<ref name=BBC3706789/> He spent time in and out of prison throughout his life, and by 1985 had accrued 50 convictions and 15 different spells in prison.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hometruths/redemption.shtml|title= Leaving a life of crime|accessdate=16 November 2006}}</ref>
After being released from prison two months before,<ref name=BBC3706789/> whilst out on licence{{Clarify|date=January 2015}} Michael was caught up in a turf war between local street gangs.<ref name=BBC3706789/> Subsequently, given a gun for protection by a friend,<ref name=BBC3706789/> a few days before the riots Michael was in an argument with his girlfriend at his mother's house; in a fit of anger, he fired the gun into a [[wardrobe]].<ref name=BBC3706789/> Later, he heard a knock on the door. When he answered it, a police officer asked if he was Michael Groce. He tried to close the door. When the police officer would not let him, Michael put the gun into the officer's mouth.<ref name=BBC3706789/> After the officer left, Michael cleaned and stored the gun, then fled to his sister's home.<ref name=BBC3706789>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3706789.stm|title=My mum got caught in the crossfire|author=Steve Hawkes|work=BBC News|date=12 May 2004|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
==Raid on Cherry Groce's house== On the morning of Saturday 28 September 1985, a group of police officers raided Cherry Groce's house on Normandy Road, Brixton, including an armed [[Criminal Investigation Department|CID]] officer, searching for suspected armed robber Michael Groce.<ref name=BBC2540397/> Mrs Groce was in bed, whilst three of her six children were in residence when the police entered the house with force. During the raid, Mrs Groce was shot and seriously injured; after an extensive search, the police did not find Michael Groce. An ambulance was called, and by the time it had arrived a small crowd had gathered outside the house. Mrs Groce was taken to [[St Thomas' Hospital]] in central London.<ref name=BBC2540397/>
==Riots== As word of the shooting spread throughout the community, rumours persisted that Mrs. Groce had in fact been killed in the raid. The group that had gathered outside her house grew to over 60,<ref name=TelgCGObit/> and then moved to the local district police station, where they began chanting "murderers" and anti-police slogans,<ref name=ITNClip36/> demanding disciplinary action against the officers involved.<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/>
However, hostility between the largely black crowd and the largely white police force quickly escalated into a series of mild street battles.<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/> These then developed into elongated skirmishes in the areas of [[Brixton Road]] and [[Acre Lane]], where the first two of a total of 55 cars over the following 48 hours were burnt out.<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/> In response the police deployed the first 50 officers in [[riot gear]] in the afternoon, who approached rioters whilst banging their [[Baton (law enforcement)|truncheons]] on their [[riot shield]]s.<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/> Through force which involved a number of reported unprovoked attacks on local passers-by and accredited members of the media,<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/> the police cordoned off the area around the police station on [[Brixton Road]], and then cleared the surrounding shopping district.<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/>
That evening, the police lost control of the area for approximately 48 hours. In the subsequent riot, severe injuries were sustained by both sides, with police injured as they were attacked by young black and white youths equipped with bricks and wooden stakes.<ref name=BBC2540397/><ref name=GuardArch85Brix/> After further skirmishes, the rioters built a defensive wall out of upturned cars across the Brixton Road, which were set alight at various times. From behind this wall, the rioters threw [[petrol bomb]]s at the police, and looted local shops.<ref name=BBC2540397/><ref name=GuardArch85Brix/><ref name=ITNClip36>{{cite web|url=http://www.itnsource.com/compilation/S10021001/|title=Clip 36 of 44 – Brixton Riots|work=[[ITN News]]|date=28 September 1985|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref> As darkness fell on [[Coldharbour Lane]], groups of men gathered and were stopping cars, opening doors and seizing the keys, expelling their occupants and then setting the cars on fire.<ref>This very nearly happened to me and my brother who executed a rapid U-turn by the petrol station where this was taking place</ref> One furniture shop, spanning the junction of Gresham Road, Barrington Road and Coldharbour Lane, was set on fire. The fire rapidly spread to the residential flats on the higher levels of the 4-storey building, and it was only by singular good fortune and heroic action of residents in rescuing one elderly gentleman that all escaped without loss of life or serious injury.<ref>I was living nearby and witnessed this horrific incident, receiving more detail from local people near the burnt out site the following day.</ref> Police later stated that they made 149 arrests that evening, mostly for violence, 20 for burglary and theft and two for petrol bombing.<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/>
In the aftermath, [[photo-journalist]] David Hodge died a few days later as a result of an [[aneurysm]], after being attacked by gang of looters he was trying to photograph.<ref>{{cite news|title=Guard acquitted of riot death charge|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19861022&id=GIJDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=q6UMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5467,5421912|accessdate=22 March 2014|newspaper=Glasgow Herald|date=22 October 1986}}</ref> In total over 50 people were injured, 200 arrests were made, one building and dozens of cars were destroyed, and several shops had been looted.<ref name=BBC2540397>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/28/newsid_2540000/2540397.stm|title=1985: Riots in Brixton after police shooting|work=[[BBC News]]|date=28 September 1985|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
In a press conference on 30 September, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Wells described the shooting of Mrs Groce as tragic, and whilst recognising the resultant "genuine feelings, particularly those of the relatives and friends of Mrs Groce", blamed the riots on "an unruly criminal element."<ref name=GuardArch85Brix>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/sep/30/brixton-riots-1985-archive|title=From the archive: Riots in Brixton after police shooting|author=Gareth Parry, Susan Tirbutt and David Rose|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 September 1985|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
===Subsequent riots: Peckham, Toxteth and Tottenham=== On 30 September in [[Peckham]], south London, black youths began throwing petrol bombs and setting shops alight. A major fire at a carpet warehouse off Peckham High Street was reported.<ref name=BBC2486315>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/1/newsid_2486000/2486315.stm|title=1985: Riots erupt in Toxteth and Peckham|work=BBC News|date=1 October 1985|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
On 1 October 1985, 10 people (including three police officers) were injured in a second riot in [[Toxteth#Unrest and crime|Toxteth on 1 October 1985]], after crowds stormed the district's streets and stoned and burnt cars in response to the arrest of four local black men in connection with a stabbing. [[Merseyside Police]] Operational Support Division was deployed into the area to restore order and were later criticised by community leaders and the Roman Catholic [[Archbishop of Liverpool]], [[Derek Worlock]], for their "over zealous and provocative tactics", which included the drumming of batons on riot shields.<ref name=BBC2486315/>
One week later, another serious conflict, sparked by similar circumstances, broke out between the Metropolitan Police and mainly black residents of North London's [[Tottenham]] district in what became known as the [[Broadwater Farm riot]].
==Aftermath==
===Cherry Groce=== On her arrival at hospital, surgeons found that the bullet had penetrated Mrs Groce's lung and exited through her spine, paralysing her from the waist downwards.<ref name=TelgCGObit/> She was hospitalised for over a year, and in hospital-based rehabilitation for a further year; friends within the local community looked after her children. With Mrs Groce permanently paralysed and only able to get around in a [[wheelchair]], and after further rehabilitation, she and her family were allocated a new [[bungalow]] in which to live.<ref name=BBC2540397/><ref name=TelgCGObit/>
The police officer who shot Mrs Groce, Detective Inspector Douglas Lovelock, was prosecuted but eventually acquitted of malicious wounding.<ref>{{cite news|title=On this day:1987: Officer cleared in Groce shooting case|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/15/newsid_2530000/2530537.stm|accessdate=22 March 2014|work=BBC}}</ref> Mrs Groce later received over £500,000 in compensation from the Metropolitan Police, but with no admission of liability.<ref name=Ch4455/>
In 2011, Mrs Groce contracted an infection which led to kidney failure.<ref name=TelgCGObit/> She was treated at [[King's College Hospital]], but she died on [[Easter Sunday]], and was buried in May 2011.<ref name=TelgCGObit>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8483471/Woman-whose-shooting-sparked-Brixton-riots.html|title=Woman whose shooting sparked Brixton riots |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=29 April 2011|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13520669|title=Funeral of Cherry Groce|work=BBC News|date=24 May 2011|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
In 2012 a [[blue plaque]] was installed at Cherry Groce's former home at 22 Normandy Road.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/dorothy-cherry-groce|website=www.londonremembers.com|title=Cherry Groce memorial|access-date=2020-07-26}}</ref>
The [[Cherry Groce Memorial Pavilion]] was erected in Brixton's Windrush Square in 2021. It was designed by [[David Adjaye]] of [[Adjaye Associates]].<ref name=BBCApr21>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-56873938|archive-url=|title=Cherry Groce: Memorial unveiled for Brixton police shooting victim|date=25 April 2021|work=[[BBC News]]|accessdate=1 October 2025|archivedate=}}</ref> Groce's son, Lee Lawrence, described the memorial as "... a fitting tribute to my mother and to our community. The injustice done to my mother on 28 September, 1985 and its aftermath, catalysed our community to act together relentlessly and persistently in the pursuit of justice for more than three decades. Our achievements together in that effort can inspire us to continue to work together to make justice a reality across our society".<ref name=BBCApr21/>
====Inquest==== After the death of Cherry Groce, the district [[coroner]] announced that a judicial inquest was to be held into her death, scheduled for June 2014. Simon Israel, reporting for [[Channel 4 News]], revealed on 21 March 2014 that separate [[pathologist]]s working on behalf of both the family and the police, both independently concluded that there was a causal link between the shooting and the death of Mrs Groce.<ref name=Ch4455>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.channel4.com/simon-israel-home-affairs/cherry-groce-metropolitan-police-publicly-apologises-shooting-mother/455|title=Met publicly apologises for shooting mother of six|author=Israel|website=blogs.channel4.com|publisher=[[Channel 4 News]]|date=21 March 2014|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
With both the Metropolitan Police and former Inspector Douglas Lovelock both to be represented at the inquest by [[Queen's Counsel]], the [[Legal Aid Agency]] refused the Groce family funds on the grounds that "there are no new issues."<ref name=Ch4455/> The family subsequently started a petition, and appealed directly to Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] for Legal Aid to support them at the inquest, supported by the Labour MP for [[Streatham (UK Parliament constituency)|Streatham]], [[Chuka Umunna]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Petition to support the Groce family in the inquest into the death of Cherry Groce|website=Change.org}}</ref> The decision was subsequently overturned on 11 April 2014 by a ministerial discussion through the [[Ministry of Justice]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ministers allow legal aid funding for family of Cherry Groce at her inquest|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/11/ministers-allow-legal-aid-funding-family-cherry-groce-inquest|accessdate=27 April 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26992412|title=Brixton police gun victim Cherry Groce's family in legal aid win|work=BBC News|date=11 April 2014|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
On 10 July 2014, the jury at [[Southwark Crown Court|Southwark Coroner's Court]] returned a verdict that concluded that eight separate police failures had contributed to Mrs Groce's death, and that her "subsequent death was contributed to by failures in the planning and implementation of the raid".<ref name=BBC28248588/> Pathologist Dr Robert Chapman testified that during his [[post-mortem]] examination he had found metal fragments from the bullet still lodged in the base of her spine, which had contributed to her being more susceptible to debilitating illnesses.<ref name=BBC28248588/> The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police [[Bernard Hogan-Howe|Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe]] subsequently "apologised unreservedly for our failings" to the family for the years of suffering, stating that the Metropolitan Police operation had been inadequate, failed to carry out its responsibilities properly, and that it was "inexcusable" that it had taken so long for the police to acknowledge these failings.<ref name=BBC28248588>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-28248588|title=Police blamed over 1985 Cherry Groce Brixton shooting|work=BBC News|date=10 July 2014|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
===Michael Groce=== After three days of hiding, Michael learnt via the television news about the shooting of his mother and the riots.<ref name=BBC3706789/> He quietly turned himself in to the police the following day, accompanied by solicitor [[Paul Boateng]].<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/> Michael was then interviewed at [[Scotland Yard]] in relation to an armed robbery at a jeweller's shop in [[Royston, Hertfordshire]] on 10 September, and later released on [[police bail]]. On 26 September, he was charged at [[Waterloo, London|Waterloo]] police station with illegal possession of a sawn-off shotgun,<ref name=GuardArch85Brix/> for which he subsequently received a three-year suspended sentence.<ref name=BBC3706789/> He was never charged with any offence associated with the armed robbery or the riots.<ref name=BBC3706789/>
Michael wrote his mother an apology in the form of a poem, subsequently published in ''[[The Voice (British newspaper)|The Voice]]'' newspaper.<ref name=BBC3706789/> Michael attempted to help the community recover; he ran a youth [[association football|football]] team, trying to provide a fun alternative to crime.
Today a reformed character, Michael is a published poet who runs poetry, personal development and motivational [[workshop]]s in schools under the project title "Cherry Blossoms", and gives talks to dissuade others from making mistakes similar to those that he made.<ref name=BBC3706789/>
===Metropolitan Police Service=== Following the trial of Inspector Lovelock, a review of firearms procedures within the Metropolitan Police led to new policy which authorised only centrally-controlled specifically trained specialist squads to be armed.<ref name=BBC2540397/> This included parts of [[Special Branch (Metropolitan Police)|Special Branch]], but excluded others including CID officers.<ref name=BBC2540397/>
In March 2014, almost 29 years after the events and almost three years after her death, the Metropolitan Police publicly apologised to Cherry Groce's family for her wrongful shooting.<ref name=BBC26698542>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26698542|title=Met publicly apologise over 1985 shooting of mother|work=BBC News|date=22 March 2014|accessdate=10 July 2014}}</ref>
==Cultural references== * The 1986 [[Pet Shop Boys]] song "[[Suburbia (song)|Suburbia]]", telling a story of boredom and (fictional) riots in suburbia, was partially influenced by the Brixton riots of [[1981 Brixton riot|1981]] and 1985, the latter of which was in recent memory when the single was released.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} * The 1987 film ''[[Sammy and Rosie Get Laid]]'' opens with an incident very similar to the Groce shooting. * The ''[[Law & Order: UK]]'' episode ''I Predict A Riot'', first aired 26 March 2014, is about a fictional black undercover policeman who went missing during the 1985 Brixton riot. * The first episode of the three part series ''[[Life of Crime (TV series)|Life of Crime]]'' (May 2013) is set during the riot and uses the riot as a backdrop for a critical plot element.
==See also== * [[1981 Brixton riot]] * [[1995 Brixton riot]] * [[Broadwater Farm riot]] * [[Eleanor Bumpurs]] * "[[The Guns of Brixton]]" * [[Urban riots]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [[BBC News Online]] – [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3706789.stm 'My mum got caught in the crossfire'] * BBC News Online – [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/28/newsid_2540000/2540397.stm 1985: Riots in Brixton after police shooting] * BBC News Online – [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/15/newsid_2530000/2530537.stm 1987: Officer cleared in Groce shooting case] *[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/sep/30/brixton-riots-1985-archive Guardian Archives: Riots in Brixton After Police Shooting] {{Riots in England}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brixton riot, 1985}} [[Category:1985 in England]] [[Category:1985 in London]] [[Category:1985 riots]] [[Category:1980s crimes in London]] [[Category:Black British history]] [[Category:20th century in the London Borough of Lambeth]] [[Category:Metropolitan Police operations]] [[Category:Race riots in England]] [[Category:20th-century riots in London]] [[Category:Brixton]] [[Category:Police misconduct in England]] [[Category:September 1985 in the United Kingdom]]