A protester has been convicted of trying to endanger the life of a police officer during clashes following the “kill the bill” protests in Bristol last spring.
Ryan Roberts, 25, was captured on camera pushing pieces of burning cardboard underneath two police vans, and placing industrial bins around an already partially burnt-out police car and setting them on fire, Bristol crown court heard.
The jury was told during his trial that Roberts had verbally abused and repeatedly kicked officers, before smashing in the windows of the police station. It was claimed that he told an officer inside one of the vans he would “go bang”.
He then smashed the windows of a mobile police station and encouraged fellow protesters to help push it over, before setting light to the cab while hundreds of people were nearby.
The afternoon of 21 March had begun with a protest against the controversial police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which had just been introduced to parliament. In his evidence, Roberts told the court the mood of the protest had changed as night fell and police equipped themselves with riot gear.
Officers started “pushing, shoving and hitting” the crowd with shields and batons to create “a sterile environment” around Bridewell police station, Roberts said. “I hadn’t seen the crowd doing anything before that point,” he said.
Asked about footage of him apparently kicking a police officer’s shield and smashing the windows of the police station, Roberts replied: “I was just getting carried away in the moment.”
Roberts was convicted of one count of attempted arson with intent to endanger life and one count of attempted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered for trying to set light to the police vans. Two alternative counts of attempted arson were left to lie on the court file, while he was further convicted of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered for setting light to the police car.
He was found guilty of riot, while he was convicted of one count of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered in respect of the torching of a mobile police station by a majority verdict of 10 to two.
Roberts is one of a number of protesters facing charges of riot arising from disturbances in Bristol after “kill the bill” demonstrations.
Det Supt James Riccio of Avon and Somerset police said officers would not stop until “every person identified is spoken to and every bit of evidence is assessed and if appropriate, put before the courts”.
Roberts will be sentenced on a date yet to be set.
