Police have made multiple arrests after a group of up to 20 people attacked a police officer and a homeless man, threw chairs at a shop window and assaulted staff at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre.
At about 6pm on Thursday 16 July 2015, officers were called by a concerned member of the public about a group of up to 20 people who were reportedly drunk and behaving in an anti-social way close to a children’s play area.
Officers attended and established this group had attached themselves to a small number of protestors who were staging a lawful, peaceful anti-cuts protest.
At about 7.20pm, members of this group broke away from the protest site and went to a nearby supermarket where they were refused entry by security staff. This led to a scuffle outside the store and, amid the fighting, street furniture was thrown at the shop.
Police immediately intervened and three men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of affray and criminal damage. During the arrests, an officer was headbutted and kicked in the mouth by one of the offenders, who was subsequently also arrested on suspicion of assault.
The officer suffered cuts, bruising and whiplash.
Later that evening, a further three women were arrested following a report of an assault on a homeless man.
A number of section 35 dispersal notices were issued in order to compel members of the group to leave the area and the situation was brought under control by officers.
Chief Inspector Gareth Parkin said: “This is the second incident in just a few days where police have responded to reports of anti-social behaviour and criminality in Piccadilly Gardens.
“I want to again stress that Greater Manchester Police is committed to facilitating lawful protest and it is important to recognise that many of the people who have gathered in the Gardens in the past few days to protest have done so in a peaceful and lawful way.
“What happened last night were not the actions of protestors but individuals who were drunk and intent on committing anti-social behaviour and criminality. As a result, a number of parents with children felt intimidated, staff at a supermarket were assaulted and their store damaged and an officer was attacked.
“Thanks to the swift response of police officers, we were able to calm the situation down and arrest those involved in the disorder.
“I want to make it clear that if anyone does go to Piccadilly Gardens or anyone else in our city centre, with the intent of causing trouble then we will not hesitate to make arrests and issue further dispersal orders directing people to leave a certain area. We will not allow legitimate protests to be hijacked in this way or allow people to feel threatened, intimidated or attacked and we will take action against those who do.”
