Page 152 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

Well they caught the gang on another job. Captured bang-to-rights as they
were by the SCS (Serious Crime Squad), all admitted their part in the latest
and five other bank robberies, including the Kingstanding job. Whilst they
each received lengthy custodial sentences, the terms were significantly
reduced as they pleaded guilty”.

DCI Heatley wasn’t to forget my actions that day as I was to discover a few
months later.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Second Handsworth Riots 9 – 11 September 1985
th
th
33years ago Handsworth and Lozells erupted in death, destruction, fire and
looting. Walking through Handsworth today, it seems inconceivable that its
thriving bustling streets were the setting for some of the worst rioting ever seen
in the city. 33 years ago, it was very different.

The second set of riots to occur in Handsworth started as a result of a minor
traffic incident and a police raid on the Villa Cross public house.

As a police officer slapped a fine onto an illegally parked car, little did he
know his actions might lead to such death and destruction.

On Monday 9 September at
th
5.00pm when a traffic officer put a
fixed penalty ticket on the
windscreen of a car parked near
to the Acapulco café on Lozells
Road, Handsworth

The man resisted arrest and fled
into the cafe. When officers arrived
to assist, they were pelted with
stones, bottles and staves. Eleven
were left injured and the seeds of
the riot were sown. Figure 68 Handsworth Shield Party
What ensued over the next 32 hours was an orgy of violence, with two
brothers murdered, shops burned to the ground, looters raiding their local
stores and police under attack.

Gangs were secretly manufacturing petrol bombs in retaliation in an illegal
gambling den overlooking the Villa Cross Bingo Hall. The bombs were
distributed to the Night Spot Cafe, and the Villa Cross pub, both in Lozells
Road. Hundreds of people attacked police and property, looting and Page152
smashing, even setting off fire bombs.