UK PC Keith Blakelock, hacked to death, London 6th October 1985

[Mrs Marple]

I searched and was surprised that it appears there is no thread for such a shocking crime. Bear with me because this is a long journey; first post will cover the incident and background before l move on to arrests. Feel free to chip in.

PC Keith Blakelock was a beat constable based in Muswell Hill. He joined the force in 1980.

The early eighties was a difficult time in England. There were strikes, social unrest, riots and poor community-police relations in several areas. These areas tended to be those with economic problems, high petty crime rates and mixed ethnic communities.

On 5th October, whilst searching a suspect's home address in Tottenham, the mother of the suspect Cynthia Jarret, had a heart attack and died. There is some controversy around this and l won't be commenting on that further on this thread.

Protesters gathered outside the local police station to demonstrate against police brutality. It turned violent.

Rioting broke out during the early hours of 6th October on the Broadwater Farm estate. This large estate was social housing and its design made it easy for petty criminals to escape; large, wide open streets in the sky, dimly lit, punctured with large stairwells, creating a maze of escape routes. I used to visit relatives who lived on a similarly designed estate in Brixton; it was often deserted and l was never sure if that was a good thing. It was certainly menacing and l felt the need to constantly check behind me.

The rioting was some of the most ferocious ever experienced in this country. Fires were lit, vehicles damaged, concrete blocks dropped over balconies; 250 police officers were injured, some of whom suffered gunshot wounds.

On the night of 6th October, PC Keith Blakelock was assigned to Serial 502, a group of PCs protecting fire fighters who were putting out fires on Broadwater Farm. They entered a stairwell but were intercepted by rioters. The rioters began chanting 'Kill the Pigs!' and attacking the riot shields with machetes. The officer in charge, Sargeant David Pengelly, ordered a retreat. The stairwell was unlit, possibly due to the fire; they were trying to retreat backwards with the rioters above them; there was fire fighting equipment on the floor. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, rioters came up behind them. Both police and fire fighters turned and fled; one of them witnessed Keith tripping and falling; a mob immediately set upon him.

Two other officers sustained serious injuries. The fleeing officers and firefighters returned to grab them from the baying mob.

PC Keith Blakelock's riot helmet had been removed. It was never recovered. A knife was buried in his neck up to the hilt. He sustained 40 separate injuries, including a broken jaw, missing fingers and punctures to his lungs. It was surmised these were cased by machetes and knives. He was also stamped and kicked multiple times. He died on the way to hospital. The two other officers survived but one had life changing injuries.

What caused Broadwater Farm riot?

Unfortunately due to the ongoing riots it was not possible to access the crime scene and collect evidence for several hours. Vital clues were lost. This would prove to be significant in the fight to bring his killers to justice.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Within days, the first arrests were made. Six people were charged with murder. Three were juveniles under the age of 16.

Early on there were concerns about treatment of the suspects. In court, the judge dismissed the charges against the youths as they were questioned without access to a lawyer. The three men were convicted and sentenced to 30 years.

'In January 1987 six people, including three juveniles, stood trail for Pc Blakelock's murder. Three, Wilson Silcott, Mark Braithwaite and Engin Raghip, were convicted in March solely on disputed confessions and, in Mr Silcott's case, on a few alleged remarks which, the prosecution claimed, pointed to guilt.'

'Mr Raghip and Mark Braithwaite both claimed that their statements were false and made under pressure after long periods of interrogation. Mr Raghip said he was near the scene of the murder wielding a broom handle. Mr Braithwaite said he hit an officer with an iron bar, but did not think it was Pc Blakelock. At the trial, both offered alibi witnesses to say they were elsewhere.

An inquiry into the trials, chaired by Lord Gifford, QC, found in November 1988 that the convictions had been 'a blot on justice.' It hoped that the Appeal Court would overturn them or, failing that, that the Home Secretary would grant pardons.'

Relatives renew Tottenham Three case plea

In 1991, the convictions of all three men were quashed by the Court of Appeal.

 

[Mrs Marple]

The original investigation was complex. Witnesses were offered immunity or a reduced charge of affray in exchange for testimony. This would come back to haunt the subsequent investigation.

PC Keith Blakelock: man charged with murder at Broadwater Farm riots

In 2013 a murder charge was brought against Nicholas Jacobs. His name came up in the original investigation and he was charged with affray. A poem or lyrics about the murder of Keith was found in his prison cell.

PC Keith Blakelock 'stabbed to death during 1985 Broadwater Farm riots by man who wrote rap song about killing'

'The man accused of stabbing to death PC Keith Blakelock during the Broadwater Farm riots wrote a rap revealing gruesome details about the 1985 murder, a court heard yesterday.

Nicky Jacobs, now 45, penned the lyrics in 1988 when he was in a youth jail serving a three-year sentence for affray in the riots, the jury was told.'

 

[Mrs Marple]

Pc Keith Blakelock murder: gang of attackers paid for giving evidence

Mr Whittam told the court that some witnesses giving evidence against Mr Jacobs were part of the gang that surrounded the policeman.

They have admitted kicking or striking the prone officer.

They were granted “conditional immunity” from prosecution on the basis that they were not involved in the stabbing.

Some of the key witnesses have even received a “degree of financial assistance from the police” in exchange for their “evidence and cooperation”, he added. The court heard details of the horrific injuries suffered by Pc Blakelock, 40, a beat bobby who had been called on to the deprived Broadwater Farm estate to protect firemen tackling a blaze.

 

[Mrs Marple]

PC Keith Blakelock trial: Questions raised after Nicky Jacobs is

The Crown Prosecution Service has defended its decision to put a convicted rioter on trial for the killing of PC Keith Blakelock after the dead man’s family watched as a seventh man was cleared of one of the country’s most notorious unsolved murders.

Nicky Jacobs, 45, punched the air and wept after he was found not guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey following a controversial trial based in part on the evidence of men involved in the 1985 attack who had been granted immunity from prosecution. It means that after the third inquiry into the killing at the Broadwater Farm Estate, there is still no justice for the family of the dead officer.

 

[Mrs Marple]

To date no one else has been charged and the case remains open.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Blade could be murder weapon

A weapon - thought to be a rusty blade - which could have been used to murder Pc Keith Blakelock during the 1985 Broadwater Farm riots has been unearthed in the back garden of a house on the north London estate.

From 2004, not confirmed as one of the weapons.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Jury hears Blakelock injury messages

Police radio messages from riots in 1985, in which an officer said PC Keith Blakelock had "a knife in the back of his head", have been heard in court.

The most senior officer there was heard saying the PC had stopped breathing and police were trying to resuscitate him.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Blakelock murder trial: police helmet was 'passed around like a trophy'

I suspect someone still has this helmet somewhere. Sadly l think if someone was going to come forward as a witness they wild have by now.

 

[Mrs Marple]

It's worth noting:

• the Police and Criminal Evidence Act came into force in 1986, after the charges were brought against the original individuals. The Act ensured that police interrogations were taped for clarity;
• Two police officers were charged with falsified interview evidence for Winston Silcot; they were acquitted;
• The UK operates an adversarial justice system where absence of evidence is accepted as absence of guilt in the eyes of the law (but not necessarily the media or public opinion).

 

[SouthWestEndGirl]

An interesting case. I know you said you had more work to do and it was a few years ago now. Did you get anywhere with this one ?

 

[Angleterre]

A colleague of mine was on duty that night in the same serial with PC Blakelock. He later transferred from the Met Police to a large provincial Northern Force which is how I became aware of his involvement in the case. He said it was terrifying and remember , in 1985, Officers only had a shield and a helmet with a visor for protection. There were no long side handled batons or ASPs as there are now, no CS, no Tasers, analogue radios which often didn’t work properly on estates like these and only a few firearms officers who were not deployed then like they are today .
In 1981 the Toxteth Riots in Liverpool was one of the first large scale riots due to community race relations and breakdown in that relationship and parts of Toxteth ( referred to as the Toxteth triangle) became a
‘No Go’ area for the Police as it was deemed too dangerous. Officers had no riot helmets and no shields or defensive weapons and resorted to using the old steel bin lids and sticks to protect themselves from bricks , bottles and firebombs. It’s because of this that formal riot training came into being with officers instructed to perform
‘A running line’ , ‘Wheel left or right ‘ , use loud communication ( use their voices to shout instructions which were psssed down the line) for example ‘Officer down ‘ or on occasion ‘ retreat’. These brave officers had nothing to help protect them. No flame retardant coveralls, boots, gloves, shields, helmets… Nothing! Very scary times but because the training was implemented once the riots had ceased, they were ready for the 1984 miners strike riots in collieries across the country.
My ex husband was an officer in the Toxteth riots, 26 years old and as fit and strong as they come. He was so scared and badly impacted by these riots and the things that happened to him and his fellow officers that he actually left the police force for a year , rejoining in 1983/4 once he had mentally worked through his experience. Even his time spent in the U.K. Army , it did not cause him fear like the riots did. He described it as totally evil animalistic behaviour by persons who wanted to do maximum damage and injury to Police, just because of the uniform and forgetting that there was a person with families behind the uniform . It was street kudos to severely injure a Cop and your hierarchy position was elevated if you did so successfully!

 

[SouthWestEndGirl]

A colleague of mine was on duty that night in the same serial with PC Blakelock. He later transferred from the Met Police to a large provincial Northern Force which is how I became aware of his involvement in the case. He said it was terrifying and remember , in 1985, Officers only had a shield and a helmet with a visor for protection. There were no long side handled batons or ASPs as there are now, no CS, no Tasers, analogue radios which often didn’t work properly on estates like these and only a few firearms officers who were not deployed then like they are today .
In 1981 the Toxteth Riots in Liverpool was one of the first large scale riots due to community race relations and breakdown in that relationship and parts of Toxteth ( referred to as the Toxteth triangle) became a
‘No Go’ area for the Police as it was deemed too dangerous. Officers had no riot helmets and no shields or defensive weapons and resorted to using the old steel bin lids and sticks to protect themselves from bricks , bottles and firebombs. It’s because of this that formal riot training came into being with officers instructed to perform
‘A running line’ , ‘Wheel left or right ‘ , use loud communication ( use their voices to shout instructions which were psssed down the line) for example ‘Officer down ‘ or on occasion ‘ retreat’. These brave officers had nothing to help protect them. No flame retardant coveralls, boots, gloves, shields, helmets… Nothing! Very scary times but because the training was implemented once the riots had ceased, they were ready for the 1984 miners strike riots in collieries across the country.
My ex husband was an officer in the Toxteth riots, 26 years old and as fit and strong as they come. He was so scared and badly impacted by these riots and the things that happened to him and his fellow officers that he actually left the police force for a year , rejoining in 1983/4 once he had mentally worked through his experience. Even his time spent in the U.K. Army , it did not cause him fear like the riots did. He described it as totally evil animalistic behaviour by persons who wanted to do maximum damage and injury to Police, just because of the uniform and forgetting that there was a person with families behind the uniform . It was street kudos to severely injure a Cop and your hierarchy position was elevated if you did so successfully!

Such an overwhelming scary account. I must admit, it was a little before my time so was not aware of the brutality.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Sadly l don't believe there have been any further developments @SouthWestEndGirl .