Thursday, August 11, 2011
THEN
On August 11, 1965 the arrest of a young black man in Los Angeles for drunk driving sparks the Watts riots. Conflict with the police over the arrest incites the crowd of bystanders to riot. The incident erupts when the driver’s mother shows up. Misunderstanding and hot temper escalate the situation and the mother attacks the arresting officer. After the officers leave with her son, the crowd grew boisterous and rioting ensued and continued for six days. By the end, 34 people are dead, including one fireman, a deputy sheriff, and a Long Beach policeman. More than 1,000 people are reported injuries and property damage is estimated at $40 million. More than 600 buildings were damaged by burning and looting, 200 of which are completely destroyed by fire.
NOW
Starting in the north London neighborhood of Tottenham last Saturday, rioting, looting, and arson has been rampaging in areas of London, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester. The U.K.’s worst violence in decades began over the police shooting death of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man. Police stopped Duggan’s minicab on Aug. 4 to make a planned arrest, but something went awry and the father of four received two police bullets. Duggan had a gun, but did not fire it. After days where gangs of rioting including attacking police property, destroying shops, looted, and arson London was quieter Tuesday night than previous nights after police from 26 other police corps were sent to the capital, augmenting the force on London streets from 3,000 to 16,000. So far, four people have died, more than 1,100 arrests have been made, and the damage to public and private property has yet to be calculated. On Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron told the nation, “Whatever tactics the police feel they need to employ, they have legal backing to do so. We will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order onto our streets. Every contingency is being looked at. Nothing is off the table.”
