Death of Keith Blakelock 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 on the night of his death to Serial 502, a unit of 11 constables and one sergeant dispatched to protect
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