12 Police Hurt in 2nd Night of Rioting in British Inner-City Area; 42 Arrested
BRISTOL, England — Twelve police officers were hospitalized Saturday following the second night of rioting sparked by the deaths of two men in a police chase, police said.
Forty-two people were reported arrested after the clashes Friday night at the Hartcliffe estate, located in a run-down, inner-city area of the western port of Bristol, about 105 miles west of London.
David Shattock, chief constable for Avon and Somerset, called it a “night of orchestrated and horrific violence.â€
Shattock said at a news conference that mobs of youths attacked a police van, stoned police and firefighters, threw gasoline bombs at officers and set fire to shops and cars before order was restored at 3 a.m.
The rioting was set off when two men riding a stolen police motorcycle crashed early Thursday with a police car chasing them.
Rioters accused police of deliberately killing the two men.
Two police detectives have been suspended from duty while an investigation by the Police Complaints Authority is carried out.
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