Page 153 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

A mob of 200 rioters gathered in Villa Road but officers were helpless to break
them up because they were not equipped with the correct gear.

Two brothers (Kassamali Moledina, 38, and his 44-year-old brother Amirali
were burnt to death in the post office that they ran. Fire officers became
aware that the brothers had decided to stay put in their Post Office to
protect their property. It was a decision that was to cost them their lives as
they died of asphyxiation in their blazing business.

Two other people were
unaccounted for, 35
others injured, more than
1500 police officers were
drafted into the area,
about 45 shops looted
and burnt, and a trail of
damage running into
hundreds of thousands of
pounds.

As well as racial tension,
unemployment was a
Figure 69 Riotous Conduct major factor in the riots; by

the time of the riots, fewer
than 5% of the black population leaving school that summer had found
employment.

The violence escalated throughout the evening and while buildings burned in
Lozells Road, looters were out raiding shops. A police log at the time
recorded: “An air of excitement is noticeable among the looters – one man
pushing a trolley-load of stolen property shouts: ‘I’m shopping early for
Christmas’.”

But there was a more sinister side. Another log chillingly recorded: “Riot
leaders emerge. One tall Rastafarian is seen ordering a group of between ten
and 15 blacks to loot shops then set the premises alight at the command of
‘fire’.”
Witnesses at the time told how they saw looters carrying away plundered
goods, and then being mugged themselves.

It wasn’t until 11.45pm that police finally regained some sort of order with the
help of residents. Local Rastafarian Nigel Heath appealed for calm and
walked up and down the streets pleading through a loud hailer for black
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people to “cool it” and return to their homes.