Seven police officers assaulted during 'frightening experience' as hundreds of protesters block migrants
Officers assaulted during protests
Seven police officers were assaulted during ‘frightening experience’ as hundreds of anti-migrant protesters attempted to block a boat from entering Portsmouth, it has been revealed.
On Sunday, September 6, approximately 140 migrants who were crossing the Channel were brought to Eastney, sparking protests with people attempting to prevent them from entering the city.
As tensions rose in the area, multiple police officers attended the scene, with reports confirming seven were assaulted during the incident.
The chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation, Spencer Wragg, told LBC: “We’ve had several officers that were assaulted, obviously during that incident. The number is seven officers.
“Thankfully, there’s no major injuries, but we’ve seen a plethora of different injuries caused in different ways. There’s been a lot of criminal damage as well as the assault on my colleagues.
“What we saw was people breaking the law, assaulting officers, causing damage to property, and I’m sure for those residents in that area, that must be quite a frightening experience.”
No arrests were made on the night but an ongoing investigation is currently taking place. Mr Wragg added: “I’ll anticipate there will be arrests in the coming days and weeks.”
Police officers were reportedly pushed off motorbikes and had stones and bricks thrown at them as they “became the target.” One of the officers injured was a rookie who had only finished training school days earlier.
Mr Wragg continued: “Those scenes in that area of Portsmouth weren’t protests, they weren’t protests at all, it was clear that some people were intent on disorder and venting their frustrations.
“If people have a point to make, and an issue they want to legitimately protest about, that is not about assaulting officers, that is not about damaging vehicles or anything like that. That is just disorder.
“One of policing’s key roles is to protect people’s right to protest, and having been a public order officer for 30 years myself, I’ve policed numerous protests. The vast majority of protests and people attending protest do so peacefully and want to get their view across.”
The News previously reported how the Home Office condemned “intimidating and thuggish behaviour” on Sunday night and that despite the protests “all of those brought ashore have left the landing site and are being transported for processing in the usual way”.