Kill the Bill protester ‘got carried away’ after riot police arrived
A MAN charged with riot in Bristol told a jury he attended a peaceful protest which turned violent due to the actions of police.
Ryan Roberts said he went to the Kill the Bill demo in the city centre on March 21 to oppose the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
But he said the mood of the protest changed outside Bridewell Police Station when police donned protective equipment and started to “assault” the gathering.
Ryan Roberts, 25, of Rawnsley House, Easton, denies wrongdoing.
He denies: riot, two counts of attempted arson with intent to endanger life; two counts of attempted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and two counts of arson being reckless.
Roberts said he led an “alternative” lifestyle.
Regarding kicking a policeman’s shield, Roberts said he did so in selfdefence as his friend had been hit by a shield. He said he was “carried away” when he attacked the windows of Bridewell Police Station.
He said he attacked a police vehicle wing mirror “just to cause damage”.
He said the protest turned from a protest about the bill going through parliament to focus on the police because of what they did.
Roberts told the jury he looked inside the glove box of a mobile police station but had no “lighting” material in either hand. He said he saw a fire being lit on the driver’s side, but he didn’t see who lit it. He said that regarding a stationary police van, he lit a rubbish bag under a wheel arch, to start a little fire, to get what he thought was an unoccupied vehicle to leave.
He accepted putting burning material under a moving van to get the vehicle to leave.
He recalled maybe saying “let’s roll it” regarding a police vehicle, and accepted consuming alcohol and cannabis on the day.
The case continues.