Gatherings of more than six people are still banned in the UK, but it was one particular noise complaint that prompted D’Orsi’s warning. Residents of Hackney’s Woodberry Down – a recently gentrified council estate – were kept awake on Friday night by what police called an “unlicensed music event.” Officers were sent to the scene and discovered a sprawling block party amidst the red-brick flats.
When asked to leave the area, the revelers “became hostile.” Battalions of riot police were then sent in, but the crowd responded by chucking bottles, cans, bricks, and even a bicycle at them. The cops charged the mob with batons and shields raised, before sending in the dogs.
Two officers were injured, with one taken to hospital. Two partygoers were arrested, one for violent disorder. By 4am, the streets were cleared and quiet again. D’Orsi said on Saturday that footage of the event is still being reviewed in a bid to identify “those who committed offenses.”
