Officers were “attacked” when called to a child protection matter that sparked a riot in Leeds, West Yorkshire Police said on Friday, as “several” involved in disorder were arrested.
Vehicles were set on fire and stones were thrown at officers in a mass outbreak of disorder in Harehills.
Officers responded to a call from Children’s Social Care at around 5pm on Thursday after social workers reported “being met with hostility” when dealing with a child protection matter, the force said.
“Responding officers were attacked and helped Children’s Social Care staff withdraw to a place of safety,” West Yorkshire Police said in a statement.
“As the disorder escalated, damage was caused to vehicles and several fires set.”
Specialist public order officers sent to the scene then “came under a barrage of bricks and missiles from a large group”, the force said.
“A decision was taken to withdraw these officers temporarily as it was evident that the police was their sole target.
“This allowed for further community mediation to take place in order to calm the situation.
“Police then returned to the area with fire colleagues to extinguish the remaining fires which were self-contained and didn’t pose a wider risk. By this point the crowd had diminished and officers were able to fully restore order.”
Several arrests have been made and further arrests will be made “over the next few days”, West Yorkshire Police said.
“The force Major Enquiry Team have launched an investigation which will include reviewing CCTV and social media footage and images to identify the perpetrators.
“We will leave no stone unturned in our hunt for all those who were involved and will work closely with our criminal justice partners to bring them to justice.”
Tom Riordan, who has been the council boss since 2010, said the rampage began after an incident involving social services and police was “misinterpreted” by residents on Thursday.
He told BBC Radio 4: “It had quietened. It’s calm. We have already started the clean up on the ground.
“There was a family incident earlier in the day that police attended and our officials attended that the local community got concerned about and that appeared to be the trigger of concern for the groups of people.
“I can’t go into any detail. It was a family incident and as always in Leeds we have outstanding rated services...we always intervene where we need to when children are at risk. It was an incident that was probably misinterpreted I would say.”
He added: “Obviously [the disorder] was shocking for everybody and it is something that we don’t want to see in our city. It was a small minority, but a significant minority of people who were doing that. It’s shocking and they need the full force of the law.”
The Home Secretary condemned the “shocking scenes and attacks” in east Leeds, where there was a “large” police presence on Thursday evening, with helicopters deployed to the area.
I am appalled at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles & public transport in Leeds tonight. Disorder of this nature has no place in our society.
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) July 18, 2024
My thanks go to West Yorkshire police for their response. I am being kept regularly updated.
Livestream footage on social media showed vehicles, including a bus, ablaze, while other videos showed an overturned police car on the road with its blue lights flashing, sirens blaring, car alarms going off and crowds of people in the street – some of them shouting.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The scenes of criminality and disorder in Leeds last night were disgraceful, including attacks on police vehicles and public transport, and will have been very distressing for local residents.
“Those responsible must face the full force of the law and West Yorkshire Police have my support in pursuing the perpetrators and taking the strongest possible action against them. “Local partners are meeting this morning and the police, the Mayor and local councillors will be working closely with the community to provide support and reassurance and prevent further disturbances.
“Where there are incidents of disorder or unrest in communities, there is a responsibility on everyone to support the local agencies and residents who are working to resolve problems and prevent escalation. They have my support in their local work to provide a calm and firm response.”
Riesa, a pharmacy dispenser who did not want to give her last name, witnessed “quite violent” scenes. She said she saw people throwing items at police officers and cars.
The 26-year-old, who lives off Harehills Lane, said: “They were attacking police cars, throwing things at the police cars – anything they could pick up off the floor really. Rocks from the garden, rubbish, drinks, anything.
“Drinks were definitely being throwing at the police – water or juice or fizzy drinks, or anything they had in their hands basically, at the cars because [the police] were trying not to get too close because it was quite violent.”
She said about an hour later, when she was back home, she heard “chanting and screaming” from outside, adding that it sounded like “a thousand people”.
“Looking out the window, you can see that people were attacking cars that were just at the traffic light trying to go past them, but they wouldn’t turn around because I think they were getting quite scared because there were so many people,” she continued.
“A few minutes after that, looking out my house, I could just see big black smoke coming from the main road.
A few minutes after that, looking out my house, I could just see big black smoke coming from the main road
“My husband said that they were pulling bins from people’s businesses or houses and just putting them into the middle of the road full of rubbish and just setting it on fire.”
She continued: “There was a bus at the lights, obviously stopped by all these people as well. He was trying to get past, obviously he couldn’t, so he just reversed and just stopped basically outside my street, and just left the bus there because he felt he was in danger.
“I did see people throwing things at the bus before the driver had got out. Someone threw some glass at the bus.”
First Bus confirmed one of the company’s vehicles was set on fire with another caught up in the chaos.
A spokesperson for the company in Leeds said: “Two of our vehicles have been caught up in the public disorder in the Harehills area of Leeds this evening.
“We can confirm that both drivers are unhurt and we have no reports of injuries to passengers.
“One of our vehicles has been set on fire but was empty as the customers had earlier been transferred to another bus together with the driver.”
The spokesperson said all services are being diverted from the area of Harehills caught up in disorder.
Thank you to our emergency services in what is a very difficult situation.
— Tracy Brabin WY 🌹 (@TracyBrabin) July 18, 2024
I’m being briefed by @WestYorksPolice and we are monitoring events.
I’m reassured no one has been seriously injured but suggest those who are using this to inflame community tensions to think again. https://t.co/IZqkz9D7jm
As of 8.15pm on Thursday, West Yorkshire Police said no one had been reported injured and the Mayor of West Yorkshire said she was “reassured” there had been no serious injuries in a social media post later that night.
Tracy Brabin thanked emergency services and said: “I’m reassured no one has been seriously injured but suggest those who are using this to inflame community tensions to think again.”
More people started to attend the location and the agency workers and children were taken to a safe place.
A crowd started to gather and more officers were requested to attend the area where “pockets of disorder” were emerging.
Update: message from Cllr Salma Arif & Inspector Nicholls.
— Salma Arif (@CllrSalmaArif) July 18, 2024
Cllrs are aware of an on-going incident in Harehills.
Please avoid the area if at all possible. pic.twitter.com/6jMX56kalS
Salma Arif, councillor for Gipton and Harehills, warned residents to stay at home in a video she posted on social media, featuring an East Leeds Neighbourhood Policing Inspector.
