At tonight’s special Council meeting myself, Gill and Allison witnessed Superintendent Andy Rowell, Borough Commander tell his side of the story…
Many questions have been asked about Police presence on the night of the riots and there have been criticisms too. What many people wouldn’t have even contemplated is that there were only 35 officers in Ealing Broadway on the night of the riots. Pleas for more assistance via the Resourcing Centre were met with ‘no resources are available’. Having already sent 37 of his specially trained officers to alternative London locations Supt Andy Rowell was unable to retrieve them to handle the ensuing riots on his own patch.
Supt Andy Rowell broke down when he re-told how the events of the night played out and how his officers were severely outnumbered attempting to deal with around 200 rioters in Bond Street alone. No riot shields, no helmets, no special uniform – nothing.
After listening to this compelling account of the Ealing riots spontaneous applause broke out amongst the chamber and for those of us sitting watching the live video link.
