Investigation launched on police attack at illegal rave in Dorset
An investigation has been launched into the police response to an illegal rave in Dorset on April 5th, which saw violent clashes between rave-goers and officers.
According to Dorset Police, approximately 2,000 people and over 100 vehicles were present upon police arrival at the gathering on April 4th.
It would take officers around 24 hours to shut the event down due to, in their words, “violent and hostile” attendees of the unlicensed gathering.
The altercation made headlines after a witness shared with BBC News that the police attempted to break up the gathering using “violence”. The witness added that the situation was “unethical, it was unhuman-like and it was just not needed”.
Police initially arrested 11 people for charges which included possession of Class A substances, driving under the influence, and assaulting an emergency worker. Now, all 11 arrested have been released on bail ahead of further investigations into each matter.
Viral videos of the event spread across social media, in which at least one police officer could be seen striking baton blows repeatedly at a crowd of people.
However, in a previous statement, Dorset Police said: “This event caused significant disruption to local communities, and we took appropriate and proportionate action to bring it to a safe conclusion.”
The statement suggested that, while the police were responding, they “came under attack from missiles and faced a violent and hostile reception. Violence in our communities and against our officers will not be tolerated.”
Zak Hanman, who was one of the several attendees filming the disorder, shared a different story with the BBC: “Towards the end, yes, people were throwing stuff at them [the police], but that was not until they were hitting people, attacking people.”
David Sidwick, the police and crime commissioner for Dorset, added, “The police would have tried to close it down peacefully. They came under intense assault with bottles.”
He finished confidently, “I am certain that when it is reviewed, we will see that there was a proportionate response.”
Investigations into both parties continue.
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