Police have released a video showing the moment one of their vehicles was set alight by a rioter in Bristol city centre.
Matthew O’Neill, of Browning Court in Patchway, South Gloucestershire, is captured on film using lit items to set a police vehicle on fire on March 21, 2021 when a peaceful Kill the Bill protest erupted into violence. The 31-year-old used a police shield to fan the flames and wielded a chair to smash the front window of a police van already well ablaze, a police investigation concluded.
O’Neill also used a police shield and baton to attack officers, as well as cause damage to the front of Bridewell Police Station. He was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday (May 23) at Bristol Crown Court after previously admitting charges of riot and arson at a prior hearing, on what would have been the first day of his trial.
Also see: Chef who admits riot and arson at Kill The Bill protest jailed
At Monday's hearing, Judge Patrick said O’Neill was part of a group that "hijacked" a peaceful protest that “became aggressive in an immediate, menacing and threatening way”.
He added: “Officers were struck, spat on, kicked and punched, and dragged into the crowd away from their colleagues. They were dehumanised throughout this disorder. Operationally this was a very difficult situation to police. Your behaviour was criminal and far exceeded anything that can be described as a lawful protest.
“By your plea, you accept that you were part of at least 12 people causing, threatening or using violence against police officers. The incident caused serious distress, damage and a considerable amount of expense which needs to be paid by the public purse.”
Kill the Bill campaigners were protesting against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, giving police and the Home Secretary increased powers to interfere and even stop protests. It also makes a special new law to protect monuments and statues, in the wake of the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, with the crime of damaging them punishable by up to ten years in prison.
Det Supt James Riccio said: “Matthew O’Neill chose to use the uncontrollable weapon of fire during the wanton violence he engaged in on that night. The change in plea on what would have been the first day of his trial is testament to the compelling visual evidence against him, meticulously collated by our team of investigators.
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“O’Neill is the seventeenth person to be jailed for offences committed during the riot so far. The combined sentence handed out by the court is now 65 years and five months. This sends out a clear and compelling message that violence and destruction will not be tolerated and if you engage in that kind of behaviour, you can expect to be brought to justice for your actions.”
In a separate hearing, Fleur Moody, aged 26, of Montpelier in Bristol, admitted a charge of affray at Bristol Crown Court on Monday, in connection with our investigation into the riot. Moody has been released on unconditional bail to attend a hearing at the same court on Monday, September 5for sentencing.
This trial brings the total number of people held accountable for offences committed outside Bridewell Police Station to 21.
