Two men have been jailed for their involvement in violent disorder in Southampton, an incident a judge branded a “hate crime” stemming from anti-police sentiment and racism.
The unrest saw officers surrounded by a “baying mob throwing projectiles” following the murder of Henry Nowak.
Daniel Frost, 44, a father-of-two from Southampton, received a sentence of two years and four months. He was convicted of violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon – a dog lead with a metal carabiner fashioned into a “makeshift knuckleduster”.
Reece Robinson, 21, of Havant, was also imprisoned for two years for violent disorder. He admitted throwing two stones or small bricks during the protest in the Portswood area on 2 June.
At Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley KC stated: “This violence was a hate crime borne out of a hatred for police and in some part racist views.”
He added: “The impact on the community was profound, local residents were subjected to fear, distress and a genuine sense of danger.”
Siobhan Linsley, prosecuting, previously told the court that Frost was visible in police body-worn video shown to the court, wearing a camouflage face-covering as he threw chairs from a garden into the road in front of the officers.
She said the defendant then “somewhat ostentatiously wraps the rope around his arm and the clip around his hand, forming what the observing officers feared to be a handmade knuckle duster”.
Ms Linsley added: “In response to hearing this, the defendant said it was a dog lead but repeatedly invited the officers to come and take it from him.
“He then told them that it will take four of them to remove it from him and that if they tried to do so ‘these lot will f*** you right up, come and get it’, referring to the crowd around him.”
Ms Linsley said that after he was arrested, Frost described the disorder as “a big party” and called one of the interviewing police officers “a gaslighting b****”.
She said that Frost had 25 previous convictions for 55 offences, including a six-year sentence for robbery and GBH, weapons offences, public order offences and burglary offences.
Describing Robinson’s involvement, Ms Linsley said: “Mr Robinson was seen at the disorder on St Denys Road, he was topless with an orange high vis vest around his neck obscuring his face.
“He bent down to pick up small stones or bricks on two occasions and throws them towards the police cordon.”
She added that when Robinson, who has no previous convictions or cautions, was arrested, he told officers: “I didn’t really do much.”
Yesterday, a further two men were jailed after throwing a traffic cone and a smoke grenade at police during violent disorder in Southampton following the murder of Henry Nowak.
Leon O’Leary, 41, and Connor Bishop, 24, received their sentences at Southampton Crown Court on Tuesday, a day after admitting to violent disorder at the city’s magistrates’ court.
Footage captured O’Leary “walking casually” through the crowd before spotting a smoke grenade on the ground, picking it up, and launching it towards officers.
O’Leary also admitted resisting a police officer and possessing an offensive weapon, for which he was sentenced.
When police arrived at his Basingstoke home at 3.30am on 7 June to arrest him, he adopted a “fighting stance” at the top of the stairs and threatened officers, who were forced to use pava spray to subdue him.
A samurai sword was subsequently discovered in his bedroom.
O’Leary said he had owned the samurai sword for 20 years and that it was decorative only. He said he did not know the law had changed on owning one.
Meanwhile, Connor Bishop, 24, from Southampton, was seen in footage wearing a black jumper with “boys get sad too” written on the back, and carrying a yellow traffic cone that he threw towards officers.
