City protest largely trouble-free
PROTESTERS chose to comply with police orders rather than risk physical confrontation at the latest Kill the Bill demo in Bristol.
Around 100 people gathered on College Green at 2pm on Saturday in opposition to the proposed Police and Crime Bill, which would curtail people’s rights to peacefully protest.
That figure had dwindled to around 30 just before 7pm – and about 20 of those took part in a sit-down protest blocking traffic on St Augustine’s Parade, a key route through the centre.
For 15 to 20 minutes, there appeared to be potential for conflict, as protesters briefly defied an officer’s order to stop obstructing the route.
With a queue of buses and cars building, police put a dispersal order in place, as a senior officer used a megaphone to warn the demonstrators that force would be used against them if they did not move on from the road.
As soon as this announcement came, the protesters got to their feet and continued their march, moving up Park Street. The group thinned quickly from this point and the protest ended at around 8pm with people sitting and chatting on College Green.
One police officer told the Post: “With the sit-down in the road, it’s a bit busier now so we’re not as happy to allow it. Some people were getting a bit chopsy with the protesters, so it was as much for their safety as anything else (to move them on).”
The demonstrators’ actions throughout the day appeared to prioritise peacefulness. They made no attempt to pass through police lines preventing access to the M32 – which protesters had blocked in a previous Kill the Bill protest – and they also obliged police requests to avoid the Old Market area during their march.
The event had started with a march through the city centre, shortly after the protesters gathered on College Green. The attendance was lower than at many of the previous Kill the Bill events, but it was no less noisy, with a samba beat ringing out from demonstrators’ drums and cowbells.
A dispute broke out in Broadmead between the protesters and a preacher who said he was there first. The protesters then returned to College Green, where more than a dozen of them took turns with the microphone to make speeches, covering a wider range of issues than just the Police and Crime Bill.