Cherry GroceMichael Groce DAC Richard Wells The Brixton riot of 1985 started on 28 September in Lambeth in South London.
The group that had gathered outside her house grew to over 60,[7] and then moved to the local district police station, where they began chanting "murderers" and anti-police slogans,[8] demanding disciplinary action against the officers involved.
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.
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.
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.
[12] 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.
[1][7] The police officer who shot Mrs Groce, Detective Inspector Douglas Lovelock, was prosecuted but eventually acquitted of malicious wounding.
Simon Israel reporting for Channel 4 News revealed on 21 March 2014 that separate pathologists 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.
[14] 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.
[4] 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.
[2] 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 police station with illegal possession of a sawn-off shotgun,[2] for which he subsequently received a three-year suspended sentence.
Today a reformed character, Michael is a published poet who runs poetry, personal development and motivational workshops in schools under the project title "Cherry Blossoms", and gives talks to dissuade others from making mistakes similar to those that he made.
[5] 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.