1985 Brixton riot

1985 Brixton riot and Shooting of Cherry Groce
Date28–30 September 1985
Location
Borough of Lambeth, South London
Caused byPolice raid and shooting of Cherry Groce
Parties
Rioters
Lead figures

Cherry Groce
Michael Groce

DAC Richard Wells

Casualties and losses
43 injured
10 injured

The Brixton riot of 1985 started on 28 September in Lambeth in South London. It was the second major riot that the area had witnessed in the space of four years, the last in 1981. It was sparked by the shooting of Dorothy "Cherry" Groce by the Metropolitan Police, while they sought her 21-year-old son Michael Groce in relation to a robbery and suspected firearms offence; they believed Michael Groce was hiding in his mother's home.[1][2]

After two days of riots, photo-journalist David Hodge had died, 43 civilians and 10 police officers were hurt. Amongst a number of fires, one building had been destroyed, 55 cars had been burnt out, and 58 burglaries had been committed including acts of looting.[2]

In March 2014, the police eventually apologised for the wrongful shooting of Mrs Groce.[3] In July of the same year, an inquest jury concluded that eight separate police failures had contributed to Mrs Groce's death, for which the then Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe subsequently "apologised unreservedly for our failings" to the family.[4]

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  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference GuardArch85Brix was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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