A rude awakening

Story: Paul Taylor

The residents of Nottingham and Rising Streets, who were awake at 6am on 2nd September, witnessed an armed raid on an address on Nottingham Street. The police were there in force.

From my house in Rising Street I could see seven armed officers, two sniffer dogs, four police vehicles and numerous other officers. The vehicles were positioned to block both streets.

So what had happened that warranted such a show of force? The raid was associated with a recent shooting on Earsham Street, and turns out to be a case of mistaken identity. The target of the raid was a 16-year-old black young man who happens to have the same streetname as the perpetrator of the shooting. He was not in the house at the time of the raid.

I was shocked to see two armed officers in my yard pointing their guns at my long-term neighbours’ house. I then noticed a further five armed officers in the next yard and wondered what the hell was happening. I was concerned for my neighbours – questions flashed through my mind: “How will Grandma react?” I went to unlock my back door and was confronted by one of the men in my yard. I was told to shut my door ‘for my safety’. Whilst other members of my family were looking out of other windows, I started taking photos and shooting a few small video clips.

Whilst trying to record the events, I was told in no uncertain terms to “Put that camera away!”, when I questioned the officer why, I received no rational response, but just another barked order to stop taking photos.

While this was all happening, the police banged on the door shouting “Armed police!” Grandma answered the door and told the officer that only she and her daughter were in the house. I then saw a sniffer dog sent in followed by the armed officers. After some time they exited and were replaced by a search team. It was also at this point that I saw Inspector Jon Ekwubiri, responsible for policing in Burngreave and Fir Vale, directing operations on Rising Street. I learned in a later conversation with him that in addition to the armed officers I could see, there were a further five on Nottingham Street. A total of twelve with firearms.

The youth had in fact seen the police presence from further down Nottingham Street, and when he realised that his Grandma’s house was surrounded, he identified himself. To help avoid trauma to his family and others, he offered his key for access. I did not see this key used for access. This version of events is disputed by the Inspector who maintains the youth arrived after they had already entered the property.

At this point, the youth was taken to Attercliffe Police Station, where after contacting his solicitor, he was interviewed at around 3pm, eventually being bailed at 5.30pm.

Grandma was sufficiently affected by the incident, that she did not stay at the house all weekend and sought medical help.

I rang Inspector Ekwubiri and asked what had been the purpose of the raid. He confirmed that it was one of two that took place that morning; the other occurring on Abbeyfield Road. The purpose was to arrest people in connection with the Earsham Street incident. The threat to officers and public was sufficient that it was deemed necessary to have an armed unit carry out the raid. The operation was a joint effort of local police, CID and the armed unit.

He assured me that the three groups talked to each other prior to the raid and had done a riskassessment exercise before the raid, including taking into account who was likely to be in the house. He said they were unaware that Grandma lived there.

The local police were aware, as they had attended an incident less than two months earlier, where she had called the police. Indeed a black woman officer who had attended the earlier incident appeared during the search. It was apparent from her demeanour that she was disquieted by what had taken place.

I asked about the reluctance of his officers to be photographed in the conduct of their ‘duty’. He would not condemn them for that, but said he could understand why I was so instructed. He asserted that such media could be ‘unhelpful’ in an investigation as they could be used in a ‘biased’ way. I suggested that this may just be the police being publicly accountable for their actions. He disagreed.

I find myself very concerned about this incident. Even after talking to the Inspector, I am totally unconvinced that the raid was necessary and that the police had any real clue about what they were doing. The raid was disproportionately aggressive, illconceived, based on bad information and with little prior thought to the detrimental effects it would have on those involved.

The police must surely acknowledge that if they want community policing, there are much better ways of doing it than making people afraid by unwarranted armed excursions into their homes.

This article is a rewrite of two articles that have previously appeared on Sheffield Indymedia as ‘Over the top policing in Pitsmoor’ (11th September – containing more photos and video clips) and ‘The Inspector Calls’ (21st September).