1995 Brixton riot

Wayne Douglas was in police custody to be questioned about a burglary. Police reported that he collapsed in Brixton Police Station. The police statement said that Douglas died after collapsing while being questioned. The post-mortem also revealed that Douglas had suffered from heart disease. == The riots ==

The picketing of Brixton Police Station over the death of Douglas reportedly developed into a march down Brixton Road (Brixton High Street). Violence was triggered by a standoff between the police and about 100 demonstrators. Witnesses have reported hearing groups of black youths shouting "Killers, killers" at the police. The riot later developed into what police called "sporadic pockets of trouble in the area around Brixton town centre". The police stated that "We gave them every opportunity to move off peacefully but they hadn't done so." == Causes ==

The New York Times reported that local residents were outraged by the death of a black man in police custody and saw the riots as expression of alienation in an impoverished area devastated by race riots in 1981. SchNews quoted another local resident, identified as 'Joyce', as saying: People were putting up barricades. There were hundreds of people involved, mostly young black and white people and they were local, they weren't outsiders. This was a combination of black people dying in police custody and the way Brixton is at the moment. The place is being yuppified with City Challenge while unemployed centres, adventure playgrounds and libraries are getting shut. ==Cultural references==

• Carter USM's song "And God Created Brixton" from the 1997 album A World Without Dave was written about the 1995 Brixton riots. ==See also==