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
1985 Handsworth riots 1985 Handsworth riots The second Handsworth riots took place in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, West Midlands, from 9 to 11 September 1985. The riots were reportedly sparked by the arrest of a man near the Acapulco Cafe, Lozells and a police raid on the "Villa Cross" public house in the same area. Hundreds of people attacked police and property, looting and smashing, even setting off fire bombs. Two brothers (Kassamali Moledina, 38, and his 44-year-old brother Amirali) were burnt to death in the post office that they ran. Two other people were unaccounted for, 35 others injured, more than