Death of Keith Blakelock Violence and looting spread throughout England for several days, leading to five deaths, extensive property damage and over 3,000 arrests. Death of Keith Blakelock Keith Henry Blakelock was a London Metropolitan Police constable who was murdered on 6 October 1985 during rioting at the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham, north London. The trouble broke out after a local black woman died of heart failure during a police search of her home, and took place against a backdrop of unrest in several English cities and a breakdown of relations between the police and black communities. PC Blakelock had been assigned
Broadwater Farm the black community. Floyd Jarrett, whose home was about a mile from the Farm, was arrested by police on 5 October 1985, having given false details when stopped in a car with an allegedly false tax disc. While he was in custody, four officers attended his home to conduct a search. During the search, his mother Cynthia Jarrett collapsed and died. It has never been satisfactorily concluded how and why Cynthia Jarrett died, and whether it was a heart attack or due to police actions. The next day, 6 October 1985, saw a small demonstration outside Tottenham police station, which