Police told to stand by as Colston statue torn down
POLICE took a ‘non-visible’ approach as ‘hysterical’ demonstrators pulled down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston, a court heard yesterday.
Officers were sent to monitor the Black Lives Matter protest which ended in chaos when a mob tied ropes around the statue and dumped it in Bristol harbour.
Four of the activists are on trial charged with criminal damage.
Julie Hayward told Bristol Crown Court that she was part of two protest liaison teams policing the 10,000-strong march, along with local officers and mounted colleagues.
‘Clear directions were given to each unit’s role on the day,’ said the constable. ‘The emphasis was very much on a nonvisible style of community policing.
‘The role of protest liaison teams was to engage with organisers to make sure the initial speeches and meet went without a hitch and make sure the march was safe and without issues. The protest liaison teams and mounted officers, with the local neighbourhood teams, were the only officers to be seen at College Green and the march. Other officers were on duty but held away from the area.’
PC Hayward said the crowd around the Colston statue became increasingly agitated and looked on as men with ropes scaled it. Despite relaying her concerns to police commanders she was not told to intervene.
She added: ‘The crowd had stopped marching and was crowding around the statue. I could see more people placing ropes around the head, middle and bottom of the statue.
‘The crowd were shouting, with fists clenched, chanting “pull it down”. It was clear they were going to pull it down. It appeared not to be bolted on to the plinth at all. The crowd were bordering on mass hysteria, celebrating and jumping on the statue on the floor.
‘I could no longer see the males responsible and I updated the commander and continued to police the protest march.’
Rhian Graham, 30, Sage Willoughby, 22, and Milo Ponsford, 26, are all charged with criminal damage for helping to pull down the statue. A fourth defendant Jake Skuse, 33, is charged with criminal damage for rolling the statue to the harbour.
The trial has heard that the Colston statue has provided a valuable opportunity for ‘conversation and education’ since being recovered from the water and unveiled at a museum. Graham told police the statue had caused ‘massive offence’ to the people of Bristol.
She said she accepted helping to cause the damage but whether it was criminal was ‘up for debate’.
The statue of Colston, a major Bristol benefactor, was erected in 1895. As a member of the Royal African Company he was a key figure in the Atlantic slave trade.
The incident in Bristol sparked the destruction of other statues and protests about monuments to Britain’s colonial past.
The trial continues.