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Kill the Bill: Arrests at protests as anger mounts over policing bill

Dogs and riot shields used to disperse people after more than 1,000 gather in city, with some marching up M32
Police have clashed with “kill the bill” protesters in Bristol for the fourth time in two weeks and public order officers with dogs and riot shields were used to finally disperse demonstrators in the early hours of Sunday morning.

More than 1,000 protesters gathered in the city and at one point a group marched up the M32 motorway and brought traffic to a standstill by sitting down on the carriageways.

After numbers dwindled to about 100, Avon and Somerset police put in place a dispersal order and scores of public order officers were deployed to drive the remaining protesters out of the city centre.

Several men and women who refused to leave were arrested before officers with riot shields and dogs chased the rest into a park and away. Police said they made seven arrests.

Bristol has become the focus of protests against the government’s police, crime, sentencing and courts bill.

There have been five demonstrations, with only one passing completely peacefully. Protesters have criticised police for what they see as heavy-handed tactics.

Saturday’s event was one of several protests that took place across England and Wales. Before it, Bristol’s area commander, Supt Mark Runacres, said the force wanted to engage with protesters to make sure the demonstration was peaceful.

About 1,000 people gathered on St Augustine’s Parade in the heart of the city where speeches were made against the bill and many chanted, drank and danced.

For several hours, groups of protesters marched around Bristol and after 9pm some headed up the M32 north as far as junction 3, before jumping over the central reservation and walking back.

After midnight, about 100 protesters remained on St Augustine’s Parade. Police, who had maintained a discreet presence all night, pulled back completely.

Tensions grew after a few dozen protesters began sitting down in the road, not allowing drivers through. At about 12.30am there was a flare-up between a group of young women who had been on a night out and the protesters.

Police enforced a section 35 dispersal order and public disorder officers, who had come from as far as Lincolnshire, began to clear the crowd.

The protesters were pushed back from St Augustine’s Parade by a line of officers, who were not wearing helmets or carrying shields. The police grabbed some protesters and pulled them back through their line, where they arrested them.

A second group of officers with shields and dogs then arrived from another direction and chased protesters into Castle Park.

The force tweeted: “A section 35 dispersal order has been put in place in #Bristol city centre. This follows a number of incidents involving violence between the remaining protestors. Officers are now dispersing people from the area.”

Runacres said: “Policing protests is always difficult in that we have to balance the rights of protesters with other members of the public.

“At times a relatively small group of people did cause significant disruption to motorists as they marched through Bristol and on to the motorway and I understand the frustration that would have caused.

“Our priority is always the safety of the public and, like all incidents, we evaluated every action the protesters took based on the threat, harm and risk they posed to themselves and to others. Dispersing protesters while they were on a live carriageway presented an unacceptable risk and the safest thing to do was to allow the protest to run its course.

“At around midnight there were several altercations between the small number of people who remained in the city centre. We never tolerate violence and so we made the decision to move people on.

“It’s disappointing that once again there were those who refused to listen to our requests to leave and that we had to make arrests.”

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